Their Fate
by Whispering-Willow08
Summary: Final Rewrite . The hatred between the Uchiha Clan and Hyuuga Clan had been known for years. Why would anyone expect an Uchiha and a Hyuuga to fall in love? SasuSaku NejiTen OcOc
1. You Want To Make a Memory

**A/N: Don't worry; I won't get lazy on you faithful readers this time. This series, plus many more, will be finished. That's a promise! **

**Their Fate**

"_Hello again, it's you and me. Kind of like it always used to be…"_

Bon Jovi

Seventeen-year old Uchiha Leiji trudged slowly down the empty streets of Konoha, tired, sweaty, and clutching her cat-shaped ANBU mask in her left hand. Leiji was the oldest of four, the first of the newly revived Uchiha clan. Her father, Sasuke, was quite proud of his oldest child's accomplishments. At fifteen, Leiji had become a member of the ANBU Black Ops, and at sixteen, she had become their leader.

It was tough work, and she had lost touch with most of her friends throughout the transition from Jounin to ANBU, but it was worth it. She was the one most trusted by the sixth hokage, Uzumaki Naruto. Leiji did miss her friends, and there were plenty of times when she wished that she could go back to being a 'normal' teenager, but it was all worth it in the end. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

Leiji paused a moment to rest against the cool brick of one of Konoha's many shops, which had already closed for the evening. The streets seemed to have a hazy effect in the setting sun, and the cool early-spring air danced lazily in the wind, brushing Leiji's thick black curls past her shoulders.

Soft footsteps could be heard approaching at her right, and she turned her head slowly, wearily, to see who was coming. Her deep black eyes widened in sudden recognition as her former teammate approached.

"Hachi!" she cried, feeling her energy suddenly return. Hachi, son of Neji Hyuuga, paused and stared, raising an eyebrow.

"Leiji?" he asked, "Is that really you?"

"Of course," Leiji replied with a smile as she walked closer to her friend's side. "How are you? How long has it been?"

Hachi wrapped his arms around her in a quick hug before replying, "It's been about two years. After becoming an ANBU, you decided you were too good for us Jounin and ditched us, remember? But other than that, I'm fine."

Leiji looked surprised, "I am not too good for you! Being and ANBU is just time consuming and-and…"

Hachi couldn't help but laugh. "Calm down, I was just kidding." It was then that Leiji got a good look at her former teammate. He had grown his hair long, the traditional style of the Hyuuga clan. His lavender eyes were still vibrant with energy, and he seemed to look much more like his father than when she had last seen him. She was disappointed to see that he was also nearly a head taller than her. She found this unfair, since she had always been taller than him.

Leiji grinned, "All right, I'm calm."

"Good," Hachi smirked, casually sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "And now that we have reunited, I believe fate is telling us to keep this up. Perhaps you'd like to meet me somewhere tomorrow to catch up? If you're not too busy that is."

"I'm not too busy," Leiji said with a laugh. She paused for a moment and looked down at her feet.

"What's wrong?" Hachi asked.

Leiji glanced back up; the smile had vanished from her face. "I can't help but wonder what my father will say."

"Oh yes, dear old dad," Hachi said, a calculating look on his face.

The rivalry between Sasuke and Neji had turned into a bitter hatred before either of their children was born. No one really knew exactly why the two hated each other, but it was made known whenever the two happened to cross paths. Six years ago, when Hachi and Leiji had been placed on the same team as genin, both Sasuke and Neji threw a fit. They both complained to Naruto, demanding he put them on separate squads, but Naruto, who enjoyed tormenting his best friend and rubbing his authority in the Hyuuga's face, refused.

"I can talk to him," Leiji said after a moment of silence passed between them. "I'm sure he won't care. We're just hanging out."

Hachi scoffed, "I'm sure." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. "What's your number?"

Leiji gave it to him and pulled out her own phone to enter Hachi's number. Once the numbers had been exchanged, the former teammates said goodbye and went their separate ways.

When Leiji reached her home, and placed her hand on the cool doorknob and sighed. Sometimes her three younger brothers gave her a real headache. She pushed the door open and stepped into the living room. Two white stood against either wall of the open living room, and a large glass door on the opposite side opened to a large, grassy back yard. The large, black flat screen television was mounted on the wall opposite of the largest couch, and next to that was a massive bookshelf cluttered with books and DVDs.

Spread out on the smaller couch was thirteen-year old Hideki, who, as always, had his iPod crammed deep into his ears. The oldest male of the newly revived clan had shaggy black hair that fell into his deep black eyes, so he was constantly brushing them away in a sort of make-shift side bang. Today he was wearing a T-shirt with the logo of his favorite band, the Beatles. His acoustic guitar lay next to him on the coffee table. Hideki was always strumming his guitar and coming up with his own lyrics. Nobody in the family understood why Hideki was so musically inclined, since no one else knew a thing about it, yet Hideki had been teaching himself to read music since he was five.

Leiji stepped further into the room and asked, "Where's mom and dad?"

Hideki, having just noticed her presence, glanced up, surprised, "What?"

Leiji reached over and plucked earphones out of his ears. "I said 'Where's mom and dad'?"

Hideki shrugged, "I don't know."

"You are an endless fountain of information." Leiji rolled her eyes.

"I know," he replied dryly, shoving the earphones back to their proper place.

Light footsteps came bounding down the stairs and eleven-year old Tai came strolling calmly into the room. "You're home early," he commented. Unlike Hideki, Tai kept his hair short; gelled back into spikes. He always appeared to be neatly kept, and rarely spoke. He was the most analytical of the four children, and preferred to sit in silence as opposed to listening to loud music like Hideki.

"Yeah," Leiji said absently. "Have you seen mom and dad?"

"Mom's still working at the hospital and Dad's at the pier with Kyo," Tai said, referring to the seven-year old, and youngest, of the new clan. Kyo was also the shyest, rarely speaking and constantly looking down at his feet sheepishly. Kyo was also the one who looked like a 'Sasuke clone', as Sakura called him.

Leiji sighed and prayed her mother would be the first to arrive home.

The front door opened and Leiji was happy to see she had gotten her wish. Sakura, still dressed in the white hospital uniform with her hair pulled back in a stubby ponytail, stepped into the living room and glanced at the three kids. "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise, my children gathered in the same room!"

"Not for long," Tai said simply as he ascended the stairs to return to his room. Hideki glanced up from his iPod, noticed his mother was now home, waved nonchalantly, and returned to what he was doing.

"Hey Mom, can I talk to you for a second?" Leiji asked, motioning towards the kitchen.

Sakura, sensing it was something serious, set her bag down by the door and said, "Sure." She followed as Leiji led the way into the kitchen. "What's going on?" Sakura asked when the two were comfortably seated at the round kitchen table, drenched in the last light of the setting sun.

"Do you remember Hachi?" Leiji asked.

"Hyuuga?" Sakura asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes," Leiji said simply, glancing down at the wooden tabletop.

"Of course I remember," Sakura said, smiling fondly. "You two were teammates, how could I forget? What a fit your father threw! He was such a nice boy though." She paused, "What about him?"

"Well I ran into him today and-."

"You did? How is he?" Sakura interrupted.

"He's fine," Leiji continued. "It's just that he and I wanted to get together tomorrow and catch up."

Sakura bit her lip. "Well I think that's wonderful. However, I don't know what your father will say."

"That's what I'm worried about," Leiji admitted.

"I would just suggest telling him that you will be going to see Hachi tomorrow, instead of just asking," Sakura suggested.

"Do you think that will work?" she asked cautiously.

"Of course!" Sakura said in total confidence. She paused, "I think."

"Mom!"

"Well it's worth a shot!" Sakura cried in defense.

As if on cue, Sasuke entered the Uchiha household along with a very tired, yet proud Kyo, who excitedly bounded into the kitchen and ran up to his older sister.

"Leiji!" Kyo cried, out of breath, "Look what I can do!" He began making quick hand motions, and took a deep breath.

Sasuke's hand shot out and grabbed Kyo by the wrist. "Not in the house!"

Kyo exhaled slowly. "Oh, right. I forgot."

"Why don't you go upstairs and take a break? You've been working hard today," Sasuke said.

"Okay!" Kyo said, beaming at his father before turning and running out of the room.

A moment of silence passed before Leiji drew in a slow breath, "Hey, Dad?"

Sasuke had just poured himself a glass of water, and he looked over at her from the rim of the glass. "Hmm?"

"Well, I ran into Hachi today and -."

"Hyuuga?" Sasuke asked, darkness beginning to cloud his vision.

"Yes," she said and continued, "and we're going to hang out tomorrow and catch up." She clasped her hands together underneath the table and hoped for the best.

"No."

Her hopes shattered. "Why not?" she asked, knowing this was a battle she had already lost.

"I put up with him being your teammate for four years, but I will not tolerate you spending your free time with a Hyuuga," Sasuke explained calmly.

"Oh, Sasuke," Sakura cut in, "they're old friends. What's the harm in the two of them just catching up?"

"Plenty," Sasuke replied simply.

"Just this once?" Leiji asked, with just a glimmer of hope left.

"No," Sasuke repeated.

Leiji, who had never defied her parents and always obeyed what they told her, suddenly stood with a determined look plastered on her face and said, "I'm going."

Sasuke was taken aback. Never, ever had he heard his daughter speak to him in that way. He simply stood there, too shocked to speak.

"Sasuke, just let her go," Sakura said calmly.

He recovered from his shock and said, "No, absolutely not. She's not going, ever."

"Sasuke-."

"I said no," Sasuke said simply as he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Wordlessly, Leiji stood and left the kitchen for her room, defeated.

Sakura turned to look at Sasuke, "You know she's just going to find a way around this, right?"

"I doubt it," Sasuke scoffed.

Sakura shook her head slowly, "I just don't understand why you hate the Hyuuga clan so much."

"I have my reasons," Sasuke replied simply.

Leiji's room was the first door on the right in the upstairs hallway. The closet was to the left, and the bed was pushed against to wall to the right. I white desk sat underneath the room's only window, and her shiny black laptop sat on top, along with a few various photos. Leiji lay on her stomach on her bed, and held her cell phone in her hand, debating.

With a sigh, she flipped open the phone and sent Hachi a text message saying, '_Dear old dad is seriously against this.'_ She jumped when the phone almost instantly buzzed in her hand, and she fumbled to reopen it to read Hachi's message.

'_So we're not meeting up tomorrow?'_

Leiji smiled deviously as an idea suddenly began forming in the back of her mind. She quickly replied, _'Don't worry, I have a plan.' _


	2. With a Little Help From My Friends

**Sorry for the awkward ending of this chapter, I felt like was getting too long (that's never happened before!). I really feel like this rewrite is going a lot better than the former ones. And just as a heads up, there is a very good chance this story's rating will be changed to 'M' soon. Anyway, I won't bother you with my rambling anymore. Enjoy chapter two!**

"_Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends. _

_Mmm, I get high with a little help from my friends._

_Mmm, I'm going to try with a little help from my friends."_

The Beatles

The next morning Leiji groggily rolled over in bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes while simultaneously pushing the covers off of her face. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked at her clock. She shot out of bed with a gasp when she saw that it was nearly noon. In a panic, she threw open the door to her bedroom and ran down the stairs and to the empty kitchen. She had never slept in so late before. Usually she was up before anyone else and ready to walk Kyo to the Academy in the mornings.

Glancing around the kitchen, she spotted a piece of notebook paper sitting on the kitchen. She picked it up and read what her mother had written:

_Leiji,_

_ We decided to let you sleep. Hideki took Kyo to the Academy, and Tai is home sick today. Check on him before you leave, please._

_ Mom_

Leiji sighed and turned to go back up the stairs to check on her brother. Tai had a terrible case of asthma and a weak immune system, so he often found himself home sick. Sasuke and Sakura were quite impressed that Tai had made it so far in his training for being as sick as he was, and he only continued to advance.

Leiji knocked lightly on Tai's bedroom door and opened it quietly. Tai was propped up in his bed, surrounded by pillows with books strewn all about. The one that was opened on his lap looked to be full of highly advanced jutsu.

"What's wrong with you today, kid?" Leiji asked when Tai looked up to see who was at his door.

"It's just my asthma," Tai explained, obviously wishing he could be outside training. "I feel fine now."

With a shrug Leiji gave her brother a small smile and said, "Stay in bed anyway, just in case."

Tai quirked an eyebrow, "Speaking of staying in bed, did you just wake up?"

"Yeah," Leiji admitted.

"You've always been an early riser, why'd you sleep so late?" Tai asked.

Leiji glanced awkwardly around the room. "I was, uh, just texting a friend for a while. I didn't go to sleep around three…"

"Who?" Tai asked curiously.

"No one important," Leiji said quickly, avoiding her little brother's cool stare. "I have to get ready to go." With that, she shut Tai's door and rushed into the bathroom for a quick shower. Once her hair was dried and her curls controlled, she threw on a tight-fitting red tank top and a pair of shorts and headed out the door.

As planned, she walked into a local coffee shop in downtown Konoha to meet up with Uzumaki Karin, the one and only daughter of Naruto and Hinata, and Leiji's closest friend. Karin sported shoulder-length blonde hair, and large lavender eyes. Although Karin was related to Hachi by blood, second cousins to be exact, the two rarely spoke, but Karin was more than willing to help her best friend be with her 'soul mate' as she called him.

Karin stood when Leiji entered the shop, smiled and waved. "Shall we execute the plan?" she asked, chipper as always.

Leiji snickered, "Calm down, Hachi isn't here yet."

"Well, when will that loser decide to show his face? If he likes you that much, he should at least have the decency to show up on time!" Karin ranted, crossing her arms defiantly. Leiji stared blankly. "By the way," Karin continued, "just how long were you two talking last night?"

"Late," Leiji replied, rubbing her still tired eyes. "Very late."

"What were you talking _about?"_ she prodded.

Leiji rolled her eyes. "Lots of stuff, I guess."

"Like how badly the horny little Hyuuga wants you?"

"What?" Leiji cried, clamping a hand over her mouth and glancing around the shop, taking in the sight of all the people who turned to stare. "What are you talking about?" she asked in a low whisper.

"Oh, come _on_, Leiji," Karin said, obviously surprised at how oblivious her usually very analytical friend was. "You two have been friends since you both started at the academy. I know because I was there. And then you two were on the same team. And _then_ you two meet up after barely seeing each other for two whole years, and suddenly you're making plans to 'catch up' and start exchanging sleep for conversation? He wants you." She gave her friend a knowing look, "And you want him."

"W-what?" Leiji asked, more shocked than before.

"Why are you so desperate to see him?" Karin challenged. "So desperate in fact, that you're going against Uncle Sasuke's _orders_ to see him. And you, my friend, are the biggest daddy's girl I've ever met. Think about it."

Feeling a blush crawl up to her cheeks, Leiji glanced down at her feet, avoiding Karin's knowing gaze at all costs.

"Leiji?" Karin prodded.

"Okay, you have a valid point," Leiji admitted, slowly raising her eyes.

Smirking, Karin glanced over Leiji's shoulder. "And here comes the lover boy now."

Leiji whipped her head around so fast her neck cracked, and she grasped it with both hands in pain. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Hachi asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, fine," Leiji muttered, slowing turning her head until it was back to its normal place.

"Let's start the plan!" Karin cried excitedly, interrupting Hachi just as he was opening his mouth to say something. Karin truly was Naruto's child.

"Okay," Leiji agreed. She glanced around the small coffee shop to make sure no one was watching and made a few discrete hand signs. She whispered "Shadow clone jutsu" under her breath and suddenly there were two Leiji's standing side-by-side. The plan she had come up with the night before was simple. The clone Leiji would spend the day hanging out with Karin, a typical day for the two girls, just in case Sasuke would happen to wonder what his daughter was up to while the real Leiji would spend her day with Hachi.

Without hesitation, Karin grabbed the clone's arm and began dragging her out of the coffee shop. "Oh, this will be fun!" she declared with a grin. She glanced behind her shoulder and said just loud enough for the whole shop to hear, "Use protection!"

"I hate her sometimes," Leiji muttered under her breath, blushing madly.

"What would you like to do today?" Hachi asked, hastily changing the subject.

Leiji paused. "Uh, I don't know. I didn't think this plan would actually work."

Hachi rolled his eyes, snickering. "Sounds like the same old you. How about a walk?"

"Alright," Leiji agreed, "so long as we keep a look out for my dad."

"And my father as well," Hachi added as the two left the shop, leaving the customers to wonder just what the heck was going on.

"What does he think you're doing?" Leiji asked, curious.

"Training," Hachi shrugged, "with Yuki."

"Oh, of course," Leiji muttered. Yuki was the third and final member of their genin squad, and though the group stayed close after becoming chuunin, the three of them usually had such busy schedules that they never had time to see each other. Yuki and Leiji had also once been somewhat of an 'item' when they were fifteen, though the relationship ended pretty quickly. Even though the relationship was short, she still felt a small twinge of guilt and shame whenever she thought of the man she had lost her virginity to.

All-in-all, it was a bad experience that she preferred not to think about.

Hachi realized his mistake and looked in the opposite direction, watching the buildings as they walked past. "Sorry."

"It's all right," Leiji said with a smile. "Ancient history."

"Do you…still talk to him?"

"Sometimes," Leiji answered, "it's been a few months though."

"I see," Hachi replied carefully.

A comfortable silence fell between the two as they continued their aimless trek through the streets of the village. After a few moments, Hachi turned to Leiji with a smile.

"So, do you still hate chocolate?"

Surprised, Leiji turned to see his face, which was smiling back at her. "Of course, I've never liked the stuff."

"Hmm," Hachi began, pretending to think hard, "I seem to recall that a very good friend of mine's father also happens to hate sweets."

Leiji cocked her head to the side, "What are you getting at?"

Hachi grinned at her for another moment before saying, "Daddy's girl."

"Hey!" Leiji protested, laughing.

"You're such a little daddy's girl," he continued, in a sing-song voice.

"Hachi!" Leiji laughed as he took off running down the streets. "C'mon, you're making me feel guilty!"

"What are you going to do about it?" he called over his shoulder, and, seeing that she was about to catch up to him, took a sharp turn to the right. As he turned, Leiji darted forward with a burst of energy and jumped onto his back. "Hey!" Hachi cried as he toppled forward from the sudden imbalance.

"You jerk!" Leiji said playfully as she straddled her former teammate and pinned his arms to the ground. "You can't hope to outrun an ANBU!"

"See, you _do_ think you're better than us Jounin," Hachi smirked.

"I do _not!_" Leiji cried, lightly smacking him upside the head. "You just can't accept that I'm stronger than you!"

"Is that so?" Hachi challenged.

"Absolutely," Leiji replied with her own variation of the famous Uchiha smirk.

"I suppose we'll have to have a little battle to see about that," Hachi replied, placing his palms on the ground as he struggled to sit up underneath her. "But until then, I suggest we move before we draw too much attention to ourselves." He motioned behind Leiji, and she turned to discover that the two had drawn a small crowd with their pretend fight.

"Oh, haven't I embarrassed myself enough today?" Leiji groaned as she jumped off of Hachi and helped him up.

"You really shouldn't ask that," Hachi grinned, "who knows what Karin's doing with the other you."

Leiji groaned even more loudly as the two righted themselves and continued on their walk.

The rest of the walk was pleasant to say the least, the two spoke of many things, from their newly found interests to old childhood memories. They didn't even notice with the sun began to fall below the horizon line and the streetlights began illuminating the streets of Konoha.

"I better get home," Leiji said regretfully. "Karin and I were supposed to meet up two hours ago so I could release the jutsu."

Hachi nodded, "I should be heading off too. I have about a half an hour to make myself look like I had a hard day of serious training."

"Good luck," Leiji replied sarcastically. She motioned her head towards the direction opposite of the Hyuuga compound. "I have to head that way."

"How about that grudge match tomorrow?" he asked playfully.

"The old training grounds, two 'o clock?" Leiji asked.

"Be there," he said simply.

"Or be square," she finished with a playful grin before turning to meet up with Karin.

"Hey." Hachi reached out and took the surprised Uchiha girl by the wrist, spun her around to face him, planted a quick kiss on her lips, and disappeared from sight.

Leiji had no idea how long she stood there in the middle of the road, in total shock, with a finger pressed lightly to her lips. She probably would never have come out of her stupor had Karin not shown up, worried after not hearing from her.

"Leiji, there you are! I was so worried!"

She turned slowly to face her friend. "Oh, Karin." She froze again as she got a good look at her shadow clone. "What did you _do_ to me?"

The other Leiji stood opposite the real one. She had her hair straightened; it fell to her mid-back with a glossy shine to it. Along with the new hair she sported heavy makeup around the eyes, and a flowery sundress.

With an evil glare aimed at her best friend, Leiji quickly released the jutsu and watched the incredibly girly version of herself disappear for good. "I hope you didn't let me walk around town like that."

"Oh c'mon, you had a lot of fun! And you have to admit, you looked hot!" Karin grinned.

Leiji shook her head slowly as she began walking in the direction of her home. "Do you want to come? You can stay the night if you want."

"Of course!" Karin said, skipping merrily ahead of her friend. "Now tell me what happened between you two. Did you confess your undying love for each other? Did he try to cop a feel? Was he good in bed?"

"Karin!" Leiji cried, shocked.

"Just tell me already!" Karin begged, the anticipation killing her.

Leiji rolled her eyes, but filled her best friend in on every detail of her walk, putting extra emphasis on the surprise kiss. However, before Karin had a chance to react to this news, Leiji came to a dead stop and held up an arm to stop Karin as well. "Do you hear that?"

Karin listened and heard low voices coming from the alleyway behind a shop that had shut down for the night. She sniffed the air, "Do you _smell_ that?"

The glanced at each other, nodded, and, since both girls were members of the ANBU Black Ops, stealthily eased their way around the corner to listen and discover what was going on.

Leiji glanced around the corner and spied what looked like a group of young teenagers. To her extreme shock, out of her peripheral vision she saw Hideki, leaning against the wall with a joint held between his fingers, the smoke rising up to the sky. The others were also holding joints in their hands.

"Karin," Leiji began, her Uchiha blood beginning to boil, "my brother is in that group. And they're smoking."

"Cigarettes?" Karin asked, surprised.

"Worse," Leiji snarled.

"_Pot_?" Karin's eyes went wide. "I have to call daddy and tell him! These kids are going to be in so much fucking trouble." She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed.

Leiji listened as Karin made the call to her father, inwardly seething. She couldn't wait to burst into that group and drag her dumbass little brother home, kicking and screaming if she had to.

Karin flipped the phone shut, eyebrows furrowed. "Daddy's coming. We're just supposed to wait here until he comes."

"I'm going to take Hideki home," Leiji growled.

"But Leiji," Karin protested, "we're just supposed to wait."

"Who do you think Hideki will be more afraid of?" Leiji asked. "My dad or yours?"

Karin let out a slow sigh, "I guess you have a point. Just please; don't let the others know the hokage is on his way. Daddy and Uncle Sasuke will be talking about the situation anyway."

"Okay," Leiji agreed, "will you be okay on your own?"

"Of course," Karin grinned. "Have fun with this."

"Oh, I will," Leiji said, disappearing from view, and reappearing behind her younger brother.

Hideki turned his head slowly, saw who was behind him and said, "Aw, shit."

Leiji shook her head. "That's what you're about to be in," she agreed as she seized him by the wrist and began dragging him away. "We're going home, let's go."

"But-"

"Don't you _dare_ argue with me. Hideki, you're high as a fucking kite."

"No, I'm not!" Hideki protested. "I was just, uh, just…uh, holding it. For a friend. Yeah, a friend."

"Shut up," Leiji growled. "I'm taking you straight to dad."

Hideki suddenly began to realize just how much trouble he was about to be in. "I'll…I'll tell him you said the fuck word," he said, his own attempt to at blackmail.

Leiji snorted, trying to hold back laughter as she fumbled in opening the front door of their home. Without a word of warning, Leiji jerked Hideki inside the house, and called "Dad!" as loud as she could.

Hideki bit his lip and glared at his sister when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs from the basement. "As of right now," he began, "I hate you."


	3. I Am a Rock

**I changed my pen name, as you can see. This was long overdue, since I haven't even considering changing the name since I created this account when I was fourteen. So glad I finally changed the name...**

"_I have my books and my poetry to protect me.  
I am shielded in my armor; hiding in my room, safe within my womb, I touch no one and no one touches me.  
I am a rock. I am an island.  
And a rock feels no pain. And an island never cries."_

Simon and Garfunkel

"He hates me," Leiji groaned, lying on her back on the couch, her head resting on her father's lap. She pressed her palm to her forehead. "He'll never speak to me again, as long as we both shall live. He'll never even so much as _glance_ in my direction. Ever. He'll never let me near him, he'll move into the basement just to avoid having something as simple as a _bedroom_ next to mine."

"Would you calm down?" Sasuke said calmly, glancing down at his daughter. Sure, that was not the kind of thing Sasuke had ever expected to deal with, and was sure Sakura, who was angrily cleaning the already clean kitchen, felt the same. "He'll forgive you eventually."

"You _have_ to say that," Leiji continued to whine. "But you know as well as I do that he won't, at least not until he's ungrounded."

Sasuke brushed her hair out of her eyes. "You did the right thing though," he offered. "And I'm sure I'll be hearing from Naruto any minute to help deal with the others."

"What kind of punishment will they receive?" Leiji asked slowly, remembering the scene that had happened just moments before.

Sasuke had come up the stairs from his basement office a little surprised to see Leiji angrily clutching the back of Hideki's shirt as he desperately tried to escape, his eyes darting about the room. "What's going on?" he had asked cautiously.

"He-." Leiji had begun to explain _exactly_ what was going on when Hideki had interrupted her.

"It wasn't me! I didn't do anything, I swear! I was just holding it!"

"Holding what?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"His joint," Leiji snarled as she shoved her brother forward. "Karin and I caught him and a few of his other _friends_ smoking up behind a building. Take a good look, dad. He's high."

Sasuke had caught Hideki by the shoulders when Leiji had thrust him forward, and now he stared down at his son with wide, shocked eyes. Indeed, he could see how cloudy Hideki's usually pure black eyes were clouded over and his face held the same dull expression. Without hesitation he shouted "Sakura!" and waited.

Sakura came bounding up the stairs seconds later. "What's wrong?" she had asked. She was not used to seeing Sasuke or Leiji looking so angry.

Slowly, nearly growling, Sasuke explained the situation to her, never allowing his intense gaze to leave Hideki, who simply stood there, staring blankly back.

"Y-you're kidding," Sakura stammered.

"We're not kidding," Leiji growled.

"St-stay here," Sakura finally said after a long pause. "I'm searching his room. Don't move."

"No!" Hideki cried, suddenly snapping back to attention. But it was too late; Sakura had already ascended the stairs. She reappeared moments later, after much crashing and banging, with a small plastic bag in her hands filled with the undeniable substance.

"What is this, Hideki?" Sakura challenged.

"Oregano?" he said hopefully.

Sakura glared. "Don't even try lying to me, where did you get this?"

Hideki chewed his lower lip, "I'm kind of hungry…"

"Hideki!" the three adults snapped in unison, and Hideki lowered his gaze to the floor.

"Tch, forget it," Sasuke snarled, "He'll never tell us anyway. Naruto and I will figure it out. Hideki, go to your room. You're grounded."

"For how long?" Hideki whined, beginning to sober up a little.

"Until I _fucking say so_," Sasuke growled with such intensity, and with his Sharingan staring his son down. Without another word, Hideki scampered to his room like a frightened rabbit. Sakura had then retreated to the kitchen for some therapeutic over-cleaning, while Sasuke sat down on the couch, leaning back and closing his eyes, thinking the situation over. It was then that Leiji decided to do something she had not done since she was a small child.

She had lain on the couch and rested her head on her father's lap, letting out a long, tired sigh. It had not been her day.

"In regards to punishment," Sasuke said, snapping Leiji out of the memory, "there isn't much we can do. They're minors. Naruto and I will probably end up speaking to the parents and assigning a month or two of community service."

"That's it?" Leiji asked, with her eyes closed.

"It's the best we can do," Sasuke replied simply.

A calm silence passed between the two and Leiji's gaze drifted to the enlarged framed picture on the wall next to the glass doors that led to the backyard. The picture was a family favorite, taken when Hideki was roughly eight months old, and Leiji four. It was a close up of the two, focusing on their faces, as brother and sister faced each other. Hideki was grinning at her, his hands placed on her cheeks, looking like he was about to laugh. Leiji was also smiling, although she held a tenderer, almost protecting, look in her eyes. Instantly after the picture had been taken, Sakura pranced all the way to the local camera store to get it developed and enlarged, declaring the whole way that 'not even Hallmark could have down better'.

Leiji looked quickly away from the picture. A moment like that would never happen again.

Sakura returned to the living room, angrily brushing nonexistent dirt off the front of her clothes, her face tightened in a look of rage. "I just cannot _believe_-," she paused when she saw the sight before her and smiled gently. "Look at you two; it's just like old times. There's just one thing missing."

Both Sasuke and Leiji turned to stare as Sakura bustled around the kitchen, gathering who-knows what. Father and daughter exchanged a confused glance as Sakura returned carrying a bowl, which she instantly placed on the coffee table. Inside the bowl rested a few sticks of strawberry pocky.

"Go on," she urged, grinning. "I trip back to the good old days will make us all feel better."

Sasuke smirked, remembering the game he and Leiji used to play with the pocky years ago. Strawberry pocky was the only kind of pocky that Leiji liked, and she only ate the part that was covered in the strawberry cream, leaving the inch or so of plain biscuit stick alone. Not wanting to be wasteful with the snack, Leiji would always lie down in Sasuke's lap, hold the pocky in her mouth, and wait for her father to bite off the biscuit end before she ate the rest.

Realizing what she was supposed to do, Leiji grabbled a stick of pocky and clutched it between her teeth. When Sasuke leaned over to bite the end off, she shifted her jaw, moving the pocky out of Sasuke's way. Smirking, the battle continued for a few more moments until Sasuke finally managed to bite off his edge. Grinning, Leiji finished off the rest.

Sasuke's cell phone, which had been sitting atop the coffee table, suddenly began vibrating madly, and he reached over Leiji to grab it. He hung up a moment later, frowning. "I have to go see Naruto to help interrogate these kids."

Leiji sat up, shaking her head. "I guess Hideki had to go also?"

"Yeah," Sasuke sighed. He walked over to the staircase and called his oldest son's name. A moment later he appeared at the bottom of the stairs, looking tired and drained. "Come on," Sasuke said without allowing Hideki to say a word. "We're going to see Naruto."

Hideki sighed and bit his lip. "All right," he said after a minute and followed his father out the door.

Once Leiji was sure her father was out of earshot, she shot off the couch and ran upstairs to her parent's room where her mother had retreated for the evening. Without knocking, Leiji burst into the room shouting "Mom!" at the top of her lungs.

"_What_ is the matter?" Sakura asked, alarmed. She was seated at the foot of her bed, a bottle of nail polish in her hands.

Realizing her sudden outburst, Leiji snickered and took a seat next to her mother. "It's just…well I saw Hachi today…"

"Like I knew you would," Sakura interrupted, not at all surprised.

"And we're going to train tomorrow," she finished.

"And you feel guilty about lying to your father and you want him to know whether he likes it or not," Sakura concluded, adding a layer of pink polish onto her toes. "Am I right?"

"Yes," Leiji said with a sigh.

"All I can say," Sakura contemplated, "is to talk to him again. Do you want me to send him to see you when he gets home?"

"You think that's the best thing to do?" Leiji asked, unsure.

"It's all you can do," her mother replied. "I never did understand the rivalry between Sasuke and Neji, but it's been there since we were kids. I'm on your side on this, Leiji, but your father is highly against this. You're his only daughter, so naturally he'll be protective."

"I wish he wouldn't be," Leiji admitted.

Sakura looked up from her toes and gave her daughter a smile, "It's cute really."

"To _you." _

"Oh Leiji," Sakura giggled, "it'll all work out in the end. I'll send your father in to see you when he gets home, but it might be late."

"All right," Leiji sighed and retreated to her bedroom to wait. She sprawled out on her bed and reached for one of her favorite novels, which was battered and worn from being read so much.

Hours passed and Leiji was about to give up on her father coming home that night when there was a soft knock on her door. She glanced up as her father slowly pushed the door open and he peeked inside.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked as he inched into the room and sat at the edge of his daughter's bed. He noticed the book in her hand, "That old thing again?"

"Yeah," Leiji replied absently, setting the book aside. "Dad, I'm going to be training tomorrow."

"You train every day," Sasuke pointed out, wandering what she was getting at.

"With Hachi."

"Absolutely not," Sasuke said.

"And Yuki," Leiji added. It was the truth, she had received a text message from Hachi earlier saying that Yuki might be joining in on their training session.

Sasuke paused, "Yuki? I suppose if Yuki is present…" Leiji was suddenly very thankful her father had no idea about the one-night fling she had had with Yuki.

"Really?" she asked, hopefully.

"Let me finish," Sasuke continued, "you may go as long as Yuki is there. The moment he leaves, you leave. I will come by to check that you obey that. Understood?"

"Yes."

"What time will you be training?" Sasuke asked.

"Three," Leiji lied, figuring an hour with Hachi would have to be enough. She didn't want to risk much more.

"Hn," Sasuke hummed, "I'll drop by around then. "

Leiji grinned, "Thanks dad."

-0-

At two 'o clock the next afternoon, Leiji ran in a mad dash towards her told team's training grounds. Once she reached the old familiar clearing in the woods, she skidded to a fast stop, causing dust to swirl around her feet. She smiled. Hachi stood across from her.

He immediately raised his arms in a fighting stance. "I believe you said that I can't accept that you're stronger than I, isn't that right? I suppose we should find out who's really in denial here."

"I suppose we should," Leiji agreed, raising her arms as well.

They charged each other at the same time, running at full speed. Just as Hachi was about to deliver a blow in his gentle fist technique when Leiji ducked down, swinging her right foot out in an attempt to trip him. Both Sharingan and Byakugon had been activated, and both teens were reading each other's every move. Leiji backed away several feet as Hachi jumped into the air to avoid her kick.

Without hesitation, Leiji charged again and she saw Hachi raise his hand to deliver a second gentle fist attack. However, Leiji saw this coming and dodged to the left just as Hachi threw out his hand. It took her only a second to realize she should have just ducked instead.

They both stood there, awkwardly, staring down at Hachi's hand which was currently occupied in cupping Leiji's breast. A trickle of sweat ran down Hachi's cheek as he raised his eyes to look into Leiji's, who was staring back, mouth open a little.

Suddenly, without warning, Leiji placed her hands gently on Hachi's cheeks and pressed her lips to his. Hachi dropped his hands and wrapped them tightly around Leiji's waist as he returned the kiss, pressing further. He opened his mouth and rubbed his tongue against her lower lip. Shocked, Leiji opened her mouth, letting Hachi explore. But she was not one to lose a battle so easily; she fought back with her own tongue and lowered to her hands to feel along his chest. Hachi followed suit and slowly moved his fingers underneath her shirt, working his way up.

"Shame, shame, know your name!"

Hachi and Leiji jerked away from the kiss so quickly that Hachi nearly took the front of her shirt with him. "Y-Yuki," he panted, staring at the third and final member of their genin squad.

"The one and only," Yuki replied, pointing to himself with a grin. His black hair stood out in all directions, and his dyed blood-red bangs hung in his dark green eyes. "What goes on, aside from sucking face?"

"It's been awhile since I've seen you," Leiji commented, wiping her swollen lips.

"Too long, dearest," Yuki smirked. "I see you've moved on." She and Hachi blushed. "But aside from that," Yuki continued, waving his hand in the air nonchalantly, "I'm throwing a party at my house next week, the day after the Cherry Blossom Festival, a sort of tailgate party, if you will."

"And we're invited?" Hachi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course!" Yuki replied. "It's about time the old team got back together."

"That's true," Leiji agreed.

"So next Saturday, my house, eight o' clock, be there." Yuki said.

"Is that the only reason you wanted to meet us here?" Hachi asked curiously.

"Yup," Yuki said with a wide grin as he turned to leave. "I'll be seeing you guys around." He raised his hand into the air as he disappeared into the thick woods.

"Typical Yuki," Hachi muttered, shaking his head slowly.

"You shouldn't be surprised," Leiji snickered as she reached for her cell phone to check the time. "Shit, my dad's going to be here soon. We, or at least you, have to go."

"All right," Hachi replied with an easygoing shrug. "But before I leave, I'm just letting you know that I'm taking you on a real date tomorrow."

"Y-you are?" Leiji asked slowly, wondering if she had heard him correctly.

"Of course," Hachi replied simply. "Whether our fathers care or not, I'm taking you. I suggest we meet at the coffee house at six, and I'll take you to dinner."

"Okay," Leiji agreed, not wanting to admit how excited she had suddenly become. Suddenly, she couldn't wait for tomorrow.


	4. Defying Gravity

**Reviews make me smile!**

"_Something has changed within me. Something is not the same.  
I'm tired of playing by the rules of someone else's game."  
from _'Wicked'

Leiji's feet skidded lightly in the morning dew sparkling on the grass as she walked with Kyo to the academy. The air was cool and a light breeze brushed her hair off of her shoulders. Kyo, who was silently looking down at his feet as he walked, shifted his gaze to glance at his sister.

"Hey, Leiji?"

"What?" Leiji asked, snapping out of her thoughts. She had been too busy thinking about Hachi's comment to take her on a 'real date' the day before to pay much attention to anything.

"Well, it's just that, uh," Kyo looked quickly back down at his feet, a pink tint forming on his cheeks.

"Kyo, what is it?" Leiji asked, growing impatient as they neared the academy.

"Well, I heard Hideki tell Tai that he was mad at you for getting him trouble and that he knew something that you did, and he said he was going to tell dad today," Kyo said all in one breath, his gaze focused on anything but Leiji.

"What does he know, Kyo?" Leiji asked, her voice more menacing than she intended it to be.

"I don't know," Kyo answered truthfully. "That's all he said."

"What did Tai say back?" Leiji tried, concerned.

Kyo thought for a moment, "He told Hideki that petty revenge should be beneath him. But then he said he wasn't really surprised either."

Leiji narrowed her eyes. "Go to school, Kyo. I'm going to have a little…_talk _with Hideki."

Biting his lip, Kyo said, "Please don't fight. Hideki's just mad."

"Oh, I'm not going to fight him," Leiji assured him. And with that, the relieved Kyo shuffled off to class. "I'm going to destroy him," Leiji finished under breath as she rushed off to find Hideki.

It didn't take long for Leiji to reach the training grounds at the pace she was going. When her brother and the rest of his team came into view, Leiji broke into a full run. Hideki, or the rest of his team for that matter, didn't have a chance to react as Leiji burst into the clearing and tackled her brother to the ground, straddling him as she pinned his arms to side. She swiftly raised two fingers to lips, concentrating her chakra before shouting, "Body bind jutsu!"

Instantly Hideki went rigid, grunting as he tried desperately to free himself from the invisible binds.

"Hey Leiji, how's it hanging?" Kiba Inuzuka, her former sensei, asked calmly. He didn't seem the least bit surprised that his formal pupil had just attacked his current one. The other two members of Hideki's team, one a brown-haired, green-eyed girl named Karli, and the other a quirky orange-haired boy named Ritsu, stared awkwardly.

"If you don't mind, Kiba-sensei," Leiji said with the sweetest smile, "I'd like to have a private word with my brother."

Eyes practically bulging out of his skull, Hideki struggled even harder to release the binds. "Say no, sensei! Say no!"

Kiba appeared to think for a moment. "Well, I _am_ under the strictest instructions from your father not to let him out of my sight, but since it's you, I suppose it's all right." He snickered. "Just bring him back in one piece, okay?"

"No promises," Leiji said in a sing-song voice as she dragged her wriggling brother out of the clearing. Once she was sure they were out of earshot, she dragged Hideki up to his feet and clutched the front of his shirt. "What do you know, you little runt?" she asked in her fiercest voice.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Hideki smirked, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"Oh yes you do," Leiji growled. "Now, tell. Me. What. You. Know."

"Release the jutsu, and maybe I'll tell you," Hideki replied.

"I'm not an idiot, Hideki. Tell me what you know and I promise I'll try to convince dad to ease up on your punishment."

Hideki could not pass up this opportunity. Just a few days cooped up in his room, only allowed to be let out to train and for missions was enough to drive him crazy. "All right, fine. I saw you and Hachi walking around town the other day. It's not like you two were trying to hide yourselves. Oh, and yesterday I was on my way to training when I overheard Hachi say something about taking you on a - what was it? – oh, a _real_ date today." He grinned mischievously. "Don't you think dad would be _thrilled _to hear about that?"

Leiji narrowed her eyes. "You stay out of this, do you understand?"

"Why should I listen to you?" Hideki challenged.

"Because if you mention one word of any of that to dad, I will beat your sorry ass," Leiji hissed.

"Just try it," Hideki smirked, overconfidently.

"You're in no position to talk right now," Leiji reminded him, motioning to the body binds.

Hideki glanced down and grimaced. "Okay Leiji, I won't tell. For now. But you need to do something for me in return."

"What's that?" she asked cautiously.

"Well, when I got grounded dad took my laptop away," Hideki explained. "You have to let me use yours until I get mine back."

"Fine," Leiji said quickly, releasing the grip she had on Hideki's shirt along with the binding jutsu. "Now get back to training, I've got stuff to do at home."

"Don't forget to put your laptop in my room!" Hideki called after her as she rushed back towards the Uchiha house.

Meanwhile, at the Hyuuga compound, Tenten sat with her twelve-year old daughter, Sumomo, with legs hanging off the side of the porch and a pile of weapons sitting between the two waiting to be cleaned. They looked up as Hachi approached, looking worn out after a morning of self-training.

"Mother, Sumomo," he greeted.

"Hey," Tenten replied, carelessly tossing several various weapons his way. Hachi caught them expertly. "Got time to help clean these?"

"Of course," Hachi said, taking a seat in the grass by his sister's feet. "I wanted to have a word with you anyway."

"Sure," Tenten agreed with a shrug, sliding a cloth over an extra long kunai and watching it sparkle in the early afternoon sunlight.

"Well," Hachi began, "because of recent events, I feel I should inform you, before father about-."

"Is this about you hanging out with Leiji Uchiha?" Tenten asked calmly.

"No way!" Sumomo cried, nearly dropping the double pointed blade she had been polishing. "You've been hanging out with an _Uchiha? _You know how dad feels about that clan!"

"Mother, how do you know this?" Hachi asked, completely ignoring his younger sister's ranting.

"Oh, please," Tenten rolled her eyes. "You act like Sakura and I aren't friends. We talk, genius."

"And you aren't…angered by my spending time with her?" Hachi asked slowly.

"Of course not," Tenten said, waving a hand nonchalantly, "although I can't say the same about Neji. What made you suddenly decide to tell me this?"

"I am taking Leiji on a date tonight. A real one," Hachi said simply.

"Oh, my God, you _love _her!" Sumomo burst out, nearly dropping the weapon again.

"Enough, Sumomo," Hachi snapped. He was more concerned with the look of heavy concentration on his mother's face.

"Well," Tenten said at last, "I suppose it's time to tell Neji about this, eh?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hachi asked.

"Of course!" Tenten declared. "Just let me do all the talking! Let's go!"

"Now?"

"Now!" Tenten bounced up from her perch and tossed her polishing cloth to Sumomo. "Finish these up, please." Off-guard, Sumomo caught the weapons and glared at her older brother.

Tenten marched Hachi straight into Neji's office, strode defiantly up to his desk and slammed both of her palms down. Shocked, Neji looked up, mouth agape. His gaze shifted momentarily to Hachi, who was standing awkwardly in the back of the room, before looking back at Tenten. "Something the matter?" he asked after a long silence.

"Not at all!" Tenten declared loudly, placing her hands on her hips. "I just feel that you should recognize that there comes a time in every young man's life," here Hachi groaned loudly in embarrassment, "where he starts to feel certain _urges."_ Tenten continued, sounding quite proud of herself. Neji stared at Tenten with a look that could almost be called pure terror. "You would know, after all you were that age once," Tenten went on, ignoring her son's embarrassment and her husband's discomfort. "And I for one," she raised a pointed finger to the ceiling, "believe that we should not hold our son back from fulfilling these urges. He should be allowed to go on a date from time to time. He's a seventeen year old boy and it is _high time_ he start taking out girls!" She stopped to catch her breath and looked to Neji for a response.

"I-I would agree," he said after a while, unsure of where she was going with this.

Tenten clasped her hands together. "Oh good, then you won't mind when he goes on a date with Leiji Uchiha tonight."

"_What_?" Neji roared, rising from his seat. Hachi cringed, but Tenten held her ground.

"There's nothing wrong with that," she said simply.

"There's _everything _wrong with that!" Neji argued back. "He is not going!"

"Oh, shut up Neji, yes he is," Tenten replied calmly. Neji stared with wide eyes. "It's high time you stop this petty rivalry with Sasuke. I've never understood why you two hate each other so much, and I probably never will, but I do know that your reasons are most likely stupid, so drop it already and let _your_ kid go out with_ his_ kid."

Too shocked to even come back with a counter argument, Neji turned slowly to his son. "If I hear any talk of a second date, any at all, I'll see to it that you never leave the compound again." With that being said, Neji turned back to his work, indicating that that was the final say in the matter.

"Thank you." Hachi scampered out of the room before Neji could change his mind.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Tenten said sweetly, leaning down to place a quick kiss on Neji's cheek.

"Tenten," Neji said slowly.

"Yes?"

"If you make me dwell on this any longer, I may change my mind."

Tenten snickered. "Yes, sir," she saluted and left the room to help Sumomo finish the cleaning.

In the Uchiha household, Leiji slipped quickly out of Hideki's room after leaving her precious laptop sitting on his bed. Her mother was the only other person home, and Leiji felt that luck was on her side. She bounded down to the kitchen where Sakura was eating a quick lunch, dressed in her hospital uniform so she could head back when she was finished.

"Hey, mom-."

"So, you're going on a date with Hachi, huh?" Sakura asked, setting down her fork.

Leiji widened her eyes in surprise, "How did you know that?"

"Tenten called." Leiji raised an eyebrow and she added, "We are friends, we do talk."

"I guess I didn't think about that," Leiji said slowly. "Well…how do you suppose I tell dad about this one?"

"Oh, you don't," Sakura said, as if that should be obvious. "Not until after, I mean."

"What?"

"Leiji," Sakura sighed, "Sasuke has enough to think about right now. There have been rumors that the Stone Village is planning an attack on Konoha and he and Naruto are having a difficult time separating the truths from the lies. I imagine you'll be gone by the time he gets home and he'll assume you're with Karin, so please Leiji, just tell him after."

"I-I didn't know about the rumor," Leiji said. "I'm head of the ANBU Black Ops, why was I not informed?"

"Naruto's trying to keep it quiet for now, until they have a little more information," Sakura explained. "I imagine you'll be sent on an information gathering mission sometime next week."

Leiji simply nodded as Sakura glanced up at the clock. "I have to get back to the hospital," she said as she put her dishes into the dishwasher. "All you need to do is focus on having fun tonight and don't worry about Sasuke."

"All right," Leiji happily agreed, and as soon as her mother left, she bounded up to her room to get ready for the date. Unsure of what to wear, she slipped on a silky navy tank top that ruffled lightly at the bottom and a pair of black skinny jeans. She then got on her hands and knees and searched the floor of her closet for a good pair of shoes. Unable to find a good set, she ran across the hall to her mother's overcrowded closet and found a perfect pair of black high heels.

She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost time to meet Hachi. Without a second thought, she rushed out the door, nearly stumbling once in her mother's shoes, and made her way to the coffeehouse.

-0-

"You actually have permission to be here?" Leiji asked in astonishment, staring across the table from inside one of Konoha's finer restaurants to Hachi, who was grinning sheepishly. "How in the world did you manage that?"

"It's a, uh, strange and somewhat awkward explanation," Hachi said, rubbing the back of his head and grinning. Leiji raised an eyebrow. "How did you manage to be here?"

"My mom knows," Leiji said with a shrug, "and it looks like my dad's going to be working overtime tonight."

"That's odd," Hachi commented, "I mean, I know he's Naruto's right-hand-man, and he's the head of Konoha's council, but you've always made it sound like he's never home late."

"Well, there seems to be a bit of an issue," Leiji said, and began explaining what her mother had told her earlier that day about the Stone Village rumors.

Hachi nodded, "Konoha has been left in peace for years, giving other countries plenty of time to work on their military strategy. Not to mention we don't have an alliance treaty with the Stone Village. I wouldn't be surprised about any kind of attack, really."

"Yes, I've been told I may be sent on an information gathering mission next week to confirm the rumors," Leiji said.

"They wouldn't send you alone, head of ANBU or not. You'll have one or two others to assist you in the mission," Hachi said, seeing the concern flash in her eyes when Leiji implied that she believed she'd be going alone.

"Well, that's good to know," Leiji replied absently, setting her chopsticks down and pushing away her now empty plate of food. She tilted her head to the side as she looked back up at her date. "Hachi?"

"Yes?"

"When did this start?"

Hachi raised an eyebrow, "The date? About an hour-."

"Not the date," Leiji interrupted. "The," she paused, "the _wanting_ to date. The…seeing each other as more than friends. When did that start?"

Hachi paused, thinking it over. "Do you remember the day Yuki asked you out?"

"Unfortunately."

"About three years before that."

Leiji's jaw dropped and she could only stare in shocked silence.

"I was just afraid of your reaction," Hachi continued. "And by the time I had mustered up the courage to ask you out, Yuki had beaten me to it. And then, by the time you two broke up you ran off to join the ANBU and we barely saw each other. "

Leiji continued to stare, and Hachi was utterly shocked when he noticed tears forming in the corners of her deep black eyes. "What's wrong?" he cried.

She quickly ran her palms underneath her eyes to brush the tears away before replying, "Nothing's wrong. It's just…Hachi, ever since we were _twelve_ I had the biggest _crush_ on you! The only reason I even _agreed_ to go out with Yuki is because I thought you weren't interested!"

"Wasn't interested?" Hachi repeated. "Leiji, you-."

"Here's your check," their bubbly waitress interrupted as she set the bill down on the table and swiftly cleared the table. It always seems like the server interrupts during the most important part of one's conversation.

Leiji reached for the check but Hachi smacked her hand away. "This is a date, remember?" he said as he placed the money on the table.

He stood and leaned over to Leiji, who was still in her seat. "As I was saying, you are the only one I've ever wanted to be with. Just you. _Only _you, Leiji. I'd gladly wait ten more years just to be with you, and I can only hope you feel the same."

Leiji stared in shocked silence before replying, "Of _course_ I do. I can't imagine being with anyone else."

Hachi grinned. "Good to hear," he grasped Leiji's wrist and pulled her from her seat. "Now come on, we've got five years of missed dating to catch up on."

-0-

Hours went by and the two simply walked around the lamp-lighted streets of Konoha hand-in-hand, speaking of nothing and everything at the same time. They knew each other so well already, after spending six years in the academy together and then another four as teammates.

Suddenly the two discovered that they had taken a wrong turn. Instead of turning onto another street as they had intended, they had turned into a dark alleyway, the brick walls on either side old and crumbling, and the only thing to break up the bricks was a door that led into a supply closet.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any," Hachi said, more to himself than to Leiji, who stared at him with an eyebrow raised. "May I kiss you?" he asked with the politeness of a Hyuuga.

"What?"

"A simple yes or no would be fine."

"But you didn't have to ask the last time we kissed," Leiji reminded him.

"Ah, but you kissed me," Hachi reminded her.

Leiji gave him a dirty look. "Yes Hachi, you may kiss me."

"That's all I needed to hear," Hachi said with a smirk before placing his lips on hers.

Leiji returned the kiss immediately, deepening it, allowing instant access into her mouth. She leaned back against the door of the storage closet, toying with Hachi, making him come closer to her. Her hand found the doorknob and without hesitation she twisted it, causing the door to swing open and the surprised Hachi to stumble inside.

"We can't risk being seen," she explained breathlessly to the confused Hachi. He nodded in agreement before returning to the kiss.

With the door shut and her back against the wall, Leiji wrapped her legs around Hachi's waist, forcing him to be closer to her. In happy return, Hachi turned his attention to the smooth skin of Leiji's neck, biting lightly every once in a while and trailing kisses downward until he reached her collar bone, where began suckling gently, nipping once or twice. To this Leiji moaned softly and lifted her head, encouraging more.

Hachi readily complied with this request while one hand moved up her silky shirt to massage her breast and the other gripped her thigh to hold her steady. Leiji's hands tangled themselves in Hachi's hair as his lips found hers again. He pressed her firmly against the wall, both breathing heavily through the kiss, both wondering how far this would be taken.

They got their answer when the door to the storage room burst open with a sudden crash and a fist suddenly connected with Hachi's cheek, knocking him to the ground. Leiji managed to catch herself from falling as well and panting, with swollen lips and the straps of her shirt falling off her shoulders, looked up to find her father glaring angrily with fists clenched at his sides.

"Why did you do that?" Leiji cried, tears forming in her eyes, "You didn't have to do that!" Out of her peripheral vision she saw Hachi clamor to his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

Without bothering to reply to his daughter's question, Sasuke grabbed hold of the front of Hachi's shirt and slammed him against the wall. "Listen to me, you son of a bitch," he growled, Sharingan spinning madly in rage as he stared Hachi down, "if I ever even _suspect_ that you are so much as _thinking_ about my daughter, I will _kill you_, do you understand?"

"Of course, Uchiha-san," Hachi replied calmly as Leiji stared in horror, unable to speak.

With a snarl, Sasuke released Hachi's shirt. "Get out of my sight," he demanded.

As Hachi left the storage closet, he turned to Leiji and gave her a quick wink and a smile, assuring her that things would work out in the end.

"You," Sasuke said, turning to his daughter, "come with me. Now."

Reluctantly, unable to fight back, Leiji followed her father home, dreading the punishment she knew was coming.


	5. Turn to Stone

**I'm back! For good this time, I swear. College just caught me by…surprise to say the least. But now that I've gotten into the swing of things, and my Naruto obsession has hit me again like a ton of bricks, I'm proud to present chapter five of **_**Their Fate**_** (finally…).**

"_Let's take a better look, beyond the storybook. And learn our souls are all we own, before we turn to stone."  
-Ingrid Michaelson _

"Did you know about this?" Sasuke demanded Sakura, his voice a deep growl.

"Yes," Sakura replied simply, her arms crossed as she leaned on the archway to the kitchen. Her gaze shifted to Leiji, who was seated on the couch with her hands clasped in lap and her head bent. Sakura didn't have to see her face to know her daughter's cheeks were painted with tears.

Scoffing, Sasuke turned to Leiji. "How could you go out and do this when I had _forbidden _you from seeing the Hyuuga? What were you thinking?"

Leiji bit her lip hard until she tasted blood. "I was thinking," she said slowly, "that five years wasted was enough."

"What are talking about?" Sasuke asked.

"I found out something tonight, dad," Leiji replied, her voice growing stronger. "I found out that I want to be with Hachi, no matter what you say. And you can't stop me."

Stunned, Sasuke stared at her with wide eyes, "How dare you say that to me!"

"I don't know why you hate Neji Hyuuga," Leiji continued, "but just because he is Hachi's father, doesn't mean you have to hate him too. If it was any other boy, you wouldn't care and you know it."

"Leiji," Sakura cut in, hoping to stop the brewing fight before it got too out of hand.

"Mom, please," Leiji replied, holding up a hand. She turned back to her father. "I'm an adult, I have to right to be with whoever I want, and I choose Hachi. Even if I have to wait till the Cherry Blossom Festival next week or maybe even longer than that, I _will _see him again."

"Ah, the festival," Sasuke said. "I'm glad you brought that up. You'll be staying by my side throughout the entire festival; it is a family affair, after all."

Leiji's jaw dropped and just as she about to unleash raw Uchiha fury, the front door burst open and Hideki strolled inside, reeking of garbage from his day of community service. He took in the scene and widened his eyes, "I swear I didn't tell him! I kept my promise!"

"You knew too?" Sasuke cried, boiling over with anger. "You're both grounded! Nothing but missions and training for the both of you. Other than that, you both are not to leave this house, is that understood?"

"Yes," Leiji replied, swiping the drying tears from her cheeks.

"But I'm already grounded for eternity!" Hideki whined.

"Hn," Sasuke hummed. "I was going to let you off the hook next week for the festival, but you can forget about that now."

"But," Hideki sputtered, unable to come up with a counterargument.

"What about me?" Leiji asked cautiously.

Sasuke smirked. "I think being forced to stay by mine and your mother's side during the festival will be more punishment than not going in the first place."

Pouting, Hideki stomped up the stairs and slammed his door. Leiji followed, defeated, but made no noise on the trek to her room.

Sighing, Sakura took Leiji's place on the couch. "Do you remember when I announced to my mother that we were going out?" she asked Sasuke, raising an eyebrow.

Sasuke let out a breath. "How I could I forget? The woman wanted my head on a platter."

Sakura rolled eyes, "Exactly Sasuke, and look! We're married against my mother's wishes."

"What's your point, Sakura?" Sasuke asked, taking a seat beside her.

"My point is," Sakura replied, resting her head on his shoulder, "that my mother hated our relationship as much you hate Leiji and Hachi's. But we're still together, aren't we?"

"Those are two entirely different situations," Sasuke said stubbornly.

Exasperated, Sakura stood and yawned. "Do you really think so, Sasuke?" Without giving him a chance to reply, she began to ascending the stairs. "I'm going to bed; it's been a long day. Are you coming?"

Sasuke shook his head, "I have to come up with a team of three, two ANBU and a Jounin, to go an information gathering mission to the Stone Village next week."

"I can think of a great pair," Sakura smirked, leaning against the banister.

"I have already selected Leiji and Karin for the ANBU, but I need to research the Jounin of the village and decide who has the best skills," Sasuke continued.

"You should pick Hachi, of course," Sakura said coolly.

"Never," Sasuke growled.

"Set your pride aside, Sasuke," Sakura yawned again. "He has the Byakugon, which is perfect for defense on a mission like this. Not to mention his superior information gathering skills. He's always Naruto's number one choice, if you recall. Now," she smiled, "are you coming to bed?"

Defeated and too tired to argue Sasuke lifted himself from the couch and followed his wife up to their room.

-0-

A week later, on the morning of the Cherry Blossom Festival, the doorbell to the Uchiha household rang over and over again.

Yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Hideki descended the stairs to answer the door. Somehow, he was the first to be awakened by the doorbell. The unsuspecting Uchiha threw open the door to come face-to-face with an elderly woman with wispy cotton candy pink colored hair, light green eyes, and a slightly hunched back. "Oh, crap," Hideki said before he could stop himself.

"Is that any way to talk to your grandmother, young man?" the one and only Mayura Haruno demanded, stepping into the house without being invited. "Now, where are your mother and that man she married? I've come for the festival. And my how you've grown, Tai!"

"I'm _Hideki_, grandma," Hideki corrected her. He couldn't believe the woman hadn't been institutionalized yet. Mayura stared blankly. "I'll get mom and dad," Hideki continued, running up the stairs. He pounded on the door to his parent's room, jumping from foot to foot as he waiting for an answer.

The door opened and Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at his oldest son, "What is it?"

"Grandma's here!" Hideki struggled to keep his voice low so she wouldn't hear from the living room.

"W-what?" Sasuke stammered as Sakura joined his side, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Did you say my mother is here?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Hideki replied, "I'm still grounded right? So I have to stay in my room and not talk to her, right?" He sounded as though he were nearly begging.

"Of course you have to talk to her," Sakura replied absently, tugging on a terrycloth robe over pajamas. She trekked down the stairs and into the living room which was being washed with the rising sun.

"Hello Sakura, dear," Mayura said, grinning and waving, the sleeves of her kimono flapping.

"What are you doing here, mother? It's five-thirty in the morning," Sakura replied tiredly.

"Exactly!" Mayura cried, "We need an early start for the festival, you silly girl. It's best to begin now!"

Sakura stared at her mother dumbfounded, "The festival doesn't start until sunset."

Mayura's face fell. "Is that so? I seem to remember several years ago the festival started extremely early in the morning and lasted all day! It was so cold that day too."

Sakura blinked. "I-I think you're talking about the day Kyo was born."

"Oh, perhaps I am," Mayura said, shrugging simply. "Well, let's get a move on then!"

"I have to go to work soon, mom," Sakura said slowly. "Like I said, the festival doesn't start until nighttime. If you'd like to go with us, you're, um, welcome to join us, but please come back closer to festival time."

"Very well then," Mayura said with a grin as she seated herself on the couch. "I'll be waiting dear."

Sakura's jaw dropped, "Mom, I meant to go home until then."

"Yes, yes, you're very busy, I understand," Mayura replied, waving her hand. "Get on your way. Those balloons won't blow themselves up!"

"Y-yes, mother," Sakura said, stunned as she backed up the stairs and returned to her room. She threw open her closet, stepped inside and peeled off her pajamas, pulling her hospital uniform off of its hanger.

Sasuke stared at her quizzically. "What was that about?"

"She wants to go to the festival with us," Sakura explained as she buttoned her uniform. "She's sitting on our couch and refusing to leave. The woman is insane, I swear."

"Hn, well we may have bigger problems," Sasuke replied as Sakura stepped out of the closet, adjusting the white hospital uniform. He motioned to Tai, who had crawled into their bed while Sakura was downstairs. Tai's face was pale and sweaty and he was curled up in a ball, burrowing into the pillows.

"Oh no," Sakura groaned, "not again." She knelt by her bed and placed a hand on Tai's forehead as he whimpered. "Fever," she sighed and glanced the clock.

"Go ahead," Sasuke told her, knowing she had to be at the hospital soon. "I can handle him and your mother."

"But you have so much work to do," Sakura replied, gently. "I can just stay home."

Sasuke shook his head, "Go. I can work from home, you can't."

Sakura bit her lip and sighed. "Oh, all right," she agreed. "I'll be back in time for the festival." She picked up her bag and threw it over her shoulder as she descended the stairs once more. She rolled her eyes at her mother who was sitting as still as a statue on the couch.

"Have fun at school, dear!" Mayura called after her as she rushed out the door.

An hour later, Sasuke had distributed medicine to Tai, who was sleeping soundly in their bed, a habit he usually had when he was sick. Sasuke was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for himself and casting nervous glances at Mayura, who still hadn't moved, when Hideki, Leiji and Kyo bound down the stones.

"Hey, what's grandma doing here?" Kyo asked sweetly, bounding over to give his grandmother a hug.

"Admiral!" Mayura cried as she shot up and saluted to Kyo. He backed away, stunned.

Leiji rolled her eyes as their grandmother reseated herself and returned to imitating a statue. She didn't even want to bother asking why she was there in the first place. "Come on, Kyo," she said instead, "you're going to be late and I'm supposed to training with the ANBU right now."

"And I've got another day of community service to suffer through," Hideki sighed, throwing up the front door.

"You brought it on yourself," Sasuke reminded Hideki as he stepped into the room. "You'll all be back by six for the festival, correct?"

"Yes, dad," Leiji sighed as she escorted her brothers out the door.

"Don't forget to pick up the lollipops!" Mayura shrieked after them.

-0-

At six sharp that night, Leiji stood in front of her bedroom mirror, adjusting her red t-shirt dress and tugging her black leggings down a little further. She had nixed the idea of a traditional yukata years ago, and she always wore something casually elegant to the festivals. She quickly twisted her hair into a loose bun before stepping into black flats. Sighing, sure she was in for a night of misery, Leiji wandered down the stairs where her parents, brothers and grandmother were gathered.

Hideki sat on the couch with crossed, pouting, while Tai slouched on the adjacent couch with the TV remote in his hand, absently flipping channels and looking a lot better than he had earlier in the day.

"You're leaving me here to take care of Tai _while_ being grounded?" Hideki whined, looking at his parents.

"Of course not," Sakura said with a breathy laugh. "I've got a friend coming over to keep an eye on you two. Luckily, she was willing to skip out the festival."

"Oh no," Hideki groaned, his mother's _friend_ could only mean one person.

"All right, where are the runts?" Ino Nara cried as she burst through the door without knocking. Her blond ponytail swished behind her and bright blue eyes shone, as always. Ino was always Sakura's number one choice in babysitting, probably because of her boiling temper. She could scare any child into doing anything she wanted.

"It's Hideki and Tai tonight," Sakura explained. "Tai's been sick today so keep an eye on him. Hideki's grounded from pretty much everything, but TV's okay as long as Tai is watching it."

"All right," Ino said, rubbing her hands together in a way that could only be described as diabolical. "Get going you guys, and have fun at the festival!"

"A festival?" Mayura asked, perking up as the rest of the family went out the front door, "I love festivals!"

Konoha's main street danced with pink and white lights and booths lined sides of the street. Released balloons floated into the sky, reflecting the light from the streetlamps. Children ran by dressed in traditional yukatas and giggling at the game stalls. Some carried goldfish and tiny turtles in bags. Teenagers strolled by hand in hand nibbling on all kinds of treats, and the adults stood in groups laughing and sipping at their sake.

Almost immediately, Karin popped out of seemingly nowhere and grabbed Leiji by her wrist. "Leiji, you have to check out this booth with me, they have the coolest-."

"Sorry Karin," Sasuke cut in, "but Leiji is staying with us tonight."

Karin stuck out her lower lip and widened her lavender eyes in an adorable pout. "But uncle Sasuke, Leiji is my best friend and I want nothing more than to spend time with her at the festival." She clasped her hands to her chest and gave Sasuke puppy eyes.

Sasuke flinched and closed his eyes. Karin was like a second daughter to him, and he had as much trouble ignoring Karin's puppy eyes as he did Leiji's. The only thing he couldn't resist was if they both gave him the eyes at the same time. When he opened his eyes, they were doing just that.

"Please, daddy," Leiji begged.

"Fine," Sasuke sighed, completely defeated. "But be back by-.

"Oh but Yuki's throwing a party after the festival," Karin interrupted. "And he really wants Leiji and me to be there. Daddy told me I could go, but only if Leiji went. Please uncle Sasuke, let her go with me."

Sakura snickered at the hold the two girls had on Sasuke. They were his biggest weakness, and it always cracked her up with they teamed up to persuade him.

"Mommy," Kyo whispered, tugging on his mother's sleeve, "can we go play a game?"

"Yes, Kyo, in a minute," Sakura smiled. "As soon as your father gives in to your sister and Karin."

"All right, all right," Sasuke sighed, exasperated. "But if I hear one word of that party getting out of hand, you'll both be in trouble, got it?"

"Yes, uncle Sasuke," Karin said, smiling sweetly as Leiji nodded. "Now, let's go!"

As soon as Leiji's parents were out of earshot, Karin gave her a wicked grin, "Let's go find Hachi!"

Leiji widened her eyes, "So that was your plan all along, huh?"

"Of course," Karin said with a grin. "And I got you out of trouble for the entire night!"

Leiji shifted from foot to foot. "All right, let's go. When does that party start, anyway?"

"In about an hour, so let's go round up Hachi and head over there!" Karin cried excitedly, throwing her arms in the air. Leiji snickered and followed her friend with butterflies growing bigger and bigger and her stomach.

**There, that makes up for a year right?...I didn't think so. Don't worry, I'll update in a week at the most….I may even update tomorrow, who knows! But I promise I won't make you guys wait another year. Expect teen partying and canoodling in the next chapter! **


	6. No 5

**So imagine my surprise when I check my story stats and discover that in less than 24 hours, the number of hits on this story went from 17 to 43! Do you guys have any idea how happy that makes me? I'm honored, thanks everyone! **

"_If the keg is tapped, then you're getting capped.  
Take your girl to the sack and we'll take a nap!"_

_-Hollywood Undead_

Leiji and Karin wandered aimlessly around the festival for nearly an hour before they caught sight of a flash of Hachi's unmistakable Hyuuga clan hairstyle.

"Go get him!" Karin urged, pushing her best friend towards him. "The party's started by now, so we're already late. Pull him away from his family so we can get a move on!"

"Just _go!_" Karin demanded, pushing her forward so forcefully she nearly crashed into Sumomo, Hachi's younger sister.

"Sorry," Leiji mumbled to Sumomo as she righted herself. Hachi stood directly in front of her, a questioning eyebrow raised. Tenten stood beside Neji with a hand clamped over her mouth, obviously hiding a giggle. Neji, on the other hand, had his arms crossed sternly over his chest, glaring at the female Uchiha. "Uh, Yuki's party," Leiji gulped, "it's started. Karin wants us to get going."

"Ah, yes, the party," Hachi replied calmly, nodding. "We should be going then, shouldn't we?"

"A party?" Neji cut in. The expression on his face was clearly disapproving. "You're going together?"

Leiji held up her hands quickly in defense. "No, Hyuuga-san, I'm just the messenger."

"Oh Neji, calm down," Tenten laughed, patting her husband on the back. "Have fun you two; just try not to get _too _intoxicated." She winked and laughed at their shocked expressions.

"Tenten!" Neji cried at the same time Hachi screeched, "Mother!"

"What? They're teenagers!" she turned to the Leiji and Hachi. "Get going, and have fun!"

As they walked back to where Karin was impatiently waiting, Leiji whispered, "How does your mom get away with saying those kinds of things to your dad?"

Hachi snickered, "He puts on a tough front, but he's secretly wrapped around her little finger. I don't think I've ever seen him legitimately mad at her."

"Interesting," Leiji replied, realizing the same could be said for her own parents. She knew father was stubborn, but her mom always seemed to have a way of getting him to agree to almost anything, except for her dating Hachi. He was relentless about that. She sighed as they reached Karin, who noticed her friend's distress immediately.

"What's wrong? Do I need to kick some Papa Hyuuga ass?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Leiji laughed while Hachi widened his eyes alarm. "No, no, there's no need for that," she assured Karin through her laughter. She found Neji being referred to as 'Papa Hyuuga' absolutely hilarious, even Hachi seemed to be snickering about the nickname.

"Great, then let's go!" Karin cried in excitement. She dashed away from the festival, leaving Hachi and Leiji struggling to keep up and proving once again that she was truly Naruto Uzumaki's child.

Every window in Yuki's house was lit up and a heavy bass beat reverberated onto the street. They didn't have to go inside to tell that the house was jam packed with people. Without hesitation the three entered through the open front door and into the living room which was blinking in and out of view thanks to the strobe light hanging haphazardly on the ceiling.

"Hey guys!" Yuki greeted in excitement, expertly carrying three red party cups that were filled to the brim with sloshing liquid. "I was worried you weren't going to make it!"

"We had some trouble tracking down a certain Hyuuga," Karin replied with a grin as she plucked one of the cups from his hands. She sniffed it before taking a sip. "Yum, what is this stuff?"

"Jungle juice, courtesy of Yano Amari," Yuki replied, motioning to a red-headed boy dancing with a blonde who was wearing hardly anything. Leiji recognized the boy as a Chuunin who taught history at the academy, the girl he was with was also a Chuunin who assisted with organizing missions for the Genin.

"I'll have to thank him personally," Karin mused as she took another sip. "Try some Leiji, it's really good."

Cautiously, Leiji plucked the second red cup from Yuki's hands as Hachi took the third. She sipped carefully and shrugged. "It is good, but what happens if our parents out? We're underage, not to mention with your dad as the hokage, he can do anything to punish us."

"Lighten up!" Karin laughed, playfully punching Leiji in the arm. "Daddy won't do anything to us, he loves me too much! Besides your dad has enough problems on his hands, he'll probably never even find out about this."

"And we should probably live up to my mother's expectations," Hachi added, jokingly.

Sighing, but unable to resist, Leiji took another sip. The alcohol burned as it slid down her throat and her ears began to burn. After mingling and talking with old friends for nearly an hour, her vision was swimming and she began to have a slight problem keeping her balance. She set her empty cup on an end table and went off to search for Hachi.

When Leiji finally stumbled across him in the living room, she could see he was in the same situation as hers. He grinned as she approached, "Hey! Do you want to dance?"

Leiji contemplated, her mind swimming with all kinds of incoherent thoughts. "Okay," she finally agreed. The song that had been playing ended and a heavy beat began to fill the air once more. She turned her back to Hachi and moved her hips against him as he slid his hands around her waist before resting them on her hips.

"Where did you learn to dance like this?" He asked, slurring his words.

Leiji giggled but kept her hips grinding at the same pace. "Karin and I used to practice dancing on each other at sleepovers. I always hated it when it was my turn to be the boy, but it was great practice!"

Snickering, Hachi gave her a naughty look. "Did you two practice making out too?"

"No, silly!" Leiji cried as she burst into peals of laughter, breaking off the dance. "You have such a dirty mind!" She placed a finger to lips as she returned to swinging her hips heavily against Hachi. "We did get bored and decided to practice giving hickeys once, though."

"Oh, did you?" Hachi asked deviously.

"Yeah," Leiji replied, still giggling. "That was a tough one to explain to my parents when they saw the giant bruise on my neck! I just told them we were sparring and Karin hit my neck! They totally believed it!"

"Maybe you should demonstrate what you learned on me," Hachi slurred, moving his hands up and down her sides as he spoke.

Leiji gasped in surprise, "I _could _show you! I _will _show you! Come on, let's go upstairs. I know where the guest room is!"

The two slinked away from the party unnoticed by Karin, who was flirting heavily with a brown-haired Jounin. They nearly had to pull each other up the stairs as they struggled with their impaired balance, but the finally made it to the guest room at the very end of the hallway. The upstairs seemed to be deserted and Leiji giggled with excitement as she led Hachi inside.

"Lay down," she instructed, motioning towards the bed that was pushed in between two curtained windows. Hachi obeyed her command and she climbed clumsily on top him and lowered herself over his neck. "We did it like this," she whispered his ear. She pressed her cool lips against the fragile skin of his neck and he let out a soft moan. Leiji sucked lightly on his hot flesh before giving it a light nibble. Hachi jumped at the sudden the pressure, but closed his eyes in pleasure as she began to suck harder, adding in a nibble here and there.

After a moment, she sat back up and eyed the big purple bruise she had created on the side of his neck. He stared up at her with cloudy eyes, an almost shocked expression his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but Leiji wordless peeled her dress off and he clamped his mouth shut, taking in the curve of her breasts resting in a black lace bra that was almost too small for her. He wanted to rip it off so he could see them in their full glory.

She rolled her hips gently against him, feeling his obvious erection against her. She moved back slightly, placing a hand on his zipper and toying with the button.

"Leiji," Hachi whispered.

"Shh," she replied, pressing a finger to her lips. "It's okay." She unzipped his pants and tugged them off, tossing them carelessly onto the floor. Her eyes were clouded over with alcohol as she leaned over and pressed her lips firmly onto Hachi's. "Let's finish what we started last week," she whispered into his ear, her voice low and husky. The two had had a few secret meetings since their 'real date' had been interrupted, and they had constantly texted each other, but neither of them had ever brought up what had almost happened in the storage closet.

Hachi shuddered with pleasure as she nibbled on his lower lip. Her tongue pushed its way into his mouth as his hands trailed up her back. He unhooked her bra effortlessly and threw it aside. One hand gripped her naked breast as the other rubbed up and down her side, gently scratching.

Leiji broke the kiss and quickly pulled off her leggings, revealing matching black lace panties. Hachi eyed them hungrily as he sat up to lift his shirt over his head. She bent down and trailed quick kisses down his chest, stopping when she reached his boxers. She hooked her thumbs into the waistband and tugged them off in one fluid motion.

"Wait, wait," Hachi said quickly, reaching over the side of the bed and fumbling for his jeans.

"What are you doing?" Leiji asked, pouting.

"I may be intoxicated," he said, tugging something out of one of the pockets, "but I'm not stupid." He sat back up and held out his hand to her. Resting in his palm was a foil wrapped condom.

Leiji grinned. "You're so smart!" she cried joyously as she carefully ripped open the foil and removed the circular object.

"I've been carrying it with me since the incident in the closet," he admitted as she worked on sliding it on. He groaned at the touch, "Just in case."

Once the condom was securely in place, Leiji straddled Hachi once again and worked on positioning herself just right. Somewhere, deep in the part of her mind that hadn't been affected by the high alcohol content of the jungle juice, a voice told her that this could end badly. The voice asked over and over again, 'What will your father think?' She shoved the thought aside, mentally cursing herself for being such a daddy's girl. Without another moment of hesitation she lowered herself onto him, wincing in pain as he slowly slid into her. Her only sexual encounter was with Yuki, nearly two years earlier and she wasn't expecting the pain she had felt the first time to return.

Hachi noticed her discomfort, "Are you…all right?"

Leiji nodded wordlessly as she finally managed to take all of him in. She began to rock her hips up and down, slowly at first, then faster as pain gave way to pleasure.

Hachi groaned and tightened his grip on her hips as they moved. After a while, he wrapped his arms around her waist and flipped her over, taking control.

Leiji moaned loudly and gripped his arms, feeling every muscle move as he slid back and forth. Her muscles began to tighten, a feeling she couldn't remember from her one-time experience with Yuki. She buried her face in Hachi's neck, trying to stifle her moans of pleasure as her entire body began to tighten. She could feel Hachi begin to tighten against her as well. Suddenly, her entire let loose and she felt as though she were floating and bright colors swam across her vision as Hachi collapsed on top her, quivering.

-0-

Leiji slowly opened her eyes and took in the darkness. Her head pounded and she pressed her palm firmly to where it hurt. As her eyes began to adjust to the moonlight, she realized she wasn't in her room. She slowly sat up and realized she was naked underneath the sheets of this unfamiliar bed. She let out a small cry when she noticed someone sleeping soundly beside her.

Hachi shot up when she cried out and widened his eyes at the shocked expression on her face. "Leiji?" he sounded utterly confused.

"Hachi," she whispered. Her head was pounding too hard for to speak any louder. "Did we…did we have sex?"

He glanced at the floor and took in all of their clothes. The condom they had used sat in the middle of the mess, seemingly laughing at him for his confusion. He closed his eyes slowly, "Yes, I'd say that we did."

Leiji clutched the covers to her chest, "Did we at least-."

"Yes," Hachi interrupted. "It's lying on the floor, but it's clearly been used."

Leiji let out a sigh of relief. "What time is it?"

Hachi leaned over the bed to reach for his cell phone and froze as a wave of nausea hit him. "Why did we listen to Karin and drink that shit?" he groaned miserably.

"Because it was a party," Leiji reasoned, rubbing at her temples.

Hachi managed to fight away the sudden nausea and pulled his phone from the pocket of his jeans. "It's nearly four in the morning."

"Oh no," Leiji groaned, leaning against the headboard of the bed. "The party is surely over by now. I can't believe Karin didn't come looking for us." She got up slowly, trying to will her headache away. She began pulling on her clothes slowly and reached for her black clutch she had been carrying with her all night. She pulled her cell phone out the bag and flipped it open to see the time for herself. Five missed calls and several text messages greeted her. All of them were from Karin.

_Where are you?_ the first text read. _Leiji, I'm getting worried, call me back_ read the second. The final text simply said, _Just call me, let me know you're okay! _

Biting her lip Leiji texting Karin an apology and assured her that she was all right. She raised her eyes to Hachi, who had pulled his clothes back and had his hand on the doorknob.

"We should really get going," he said.

"Yeah," Leiji agreed, going through the door Hachi had opened for her.

He placed a quick kiss on her lips. "Don't worry about what happened," he said, "I'm sure it's what we wanted."

Leiji smiled weakly, "I'd just like to remember it next time."

Hachi kissed the center of her forehead, "I'm sure you will. Now come on, let's get you home."

**So this was only my second attempt at a sex scene…hopefully it wasn't too terrible (laughs). I hope you guys are enjoying the story, and remember: I love reviews! I'll update soon!**


	7. Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks

**So going back and skimming through previous chapters I've noticed a few mistakes and missing words. My bad. I'm too lazy to go back and fix them…**

"_Watch your mouth, oh, oh, oh,  
because your speech is slurred, and I bet you might just swallow your tongue."  
-Panic! At the Disco_

When Leiji finally made it home, she silently went into the kitchen and threw several aspirin into her mouth, chasing them with two full glasses of water. Praying she wouldn't be caught coming home so late, she crept up the dark staircase and soundlessly closed the door to her room. Her bed had never looked so inviting and she flopped down onto the mattress, buried her head in her pillow, and wrapped herself in her blankets, grateful for the chance to sleep in as late as she wanted.

Less than two hours later, someone was knocking loudly on her door. Groaning, she pulled her pillow over her ears, hoping whoever it was would just go away and let her sleep. The knocking continued until she finally heard her door click open. Sighing, she turned her head and opened one eye to see who the intruder was.

"Get up," Sasuke said simply, leaning in her doorway. "We need to go to the Hokage tower, now." Leiji mumbled something incoherent and Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Don't want to go," she mumbled again. Her eyes stung with the need to sleep.

"Hn, too bad," Sasuke scoffed, "Naruto is calling for you. He has a mission."

Leiji lifted her head slowly. Her headache had dulled to a minor throb, but it still was just enough to annoy her. "Is it the information gathering mission to the Stone Village?" she asked sleepily.

"Yes," Sasuke replied.

"Why does it have to be so early?" she whined, glancing at the clock. It was barely six in the morning.

"Because it's a full day's walk to get there, and Naruto wants you and the others to be there by sunset," Sasuke explained. "Now get up, we're already late."

Groaning, Leiji finally pulled herself out of bed and Sasuke left to let her get dressed. Too tired to put together a decent outfit, she threw on a simple white t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Her black ANBU robes were hanging at the farthest end of her closet, and she tugged them on quickly, pulling the hood on over her messy hair. She grabbed her cat-shaped mask and met her father in the living room.

"Are you all right?" he asked, noticing how miserable his daughter looked.

"I'm just tired," she said quickly, hoping he couldn't smell the alcohol on her. She had had no chance to shower.

"Hn," Sasuke hummed as he held the front door open for her. She slipped her mask on as she stepped out into the gray light of dawn and inhaled the fresh scent of morning.

They arrived at the tower just as the sun was beginning to show on the horizon. Leiji pushed open the door to Naruto's office with her father close behind. Karin was already there, her arms crossed and tapping her foot impatiently. Even though her face was covered by her bird-shaped ANBU mask, Leiji could tell she was scowling.

Sasuke approached Naruto to discuss something out of the girls' earshot and Karin turned to Leiji, whispering ferociously, "Where were you last night? I thought something had happened to you!"

"I'm sorry," Leiji whispered back, "I'll explain everything later, I promise. It's…complicated." She could feel Karin giving her a questioning look at this. Fortunately Leiji was saved from further explanation when the door opened and Hachi stepped inside the office. Somehow he appeared to be wide-awake, and looked as though he had had a long shower and a good night's sleep.

"Ah, good, you're all here," Naruto said as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. "I'm going to make this quick so I can get back to sleep-."

"Naruto, act professional, I shouldn't have to babysit you," Sasuke growled and Naruto winced.

"But I'm tired!" Naruto whined. He turned back to the three teenagers. "Anyway, you're all here for a very important mission. The three of you will be going to the Stone Village to gather information on their military. We have enough proof to believe that they are planning an attack on Konoha. We need you to find out of this is true, and if possible try to discover when the attack will be so we can prepare our military for war. Understood?"

The three teens nodded in unison.

"Good," Naruto clasped his hands together and placed them on his desk. "Now, of course you will be in disguise. The three of you will pose as simple travelers from the Land of Lightening, the Stone Village's allies. This means you cannot show any sign that you are from Konoha. I'll need you all to turn in your headbands and ANBU gear to me now."

"But daddy," Karin interrupted, sounding alarmed. "What about my eyes? And Hachi's too? We can't hide an obvious bloodline trait."

"We've prepared for that," Sasuke replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two cases. "Colored contact lenses for the both of you," he explained. "These will hide your eyes."

"Wow, uncle Sasuke, that's genius!" Karin gushed, picking up one of the cases and opening it. "Oh, what a pretty blue!"

Naruto nodded and grinned proudly, "They're the same color as my eyes! Now, you two go put the contacts in and hand over your headbands and whatnot."

As Karin and Hachi disappeared to the bathrooms to insert their new contacts, Leiji pulled her mask off and placed it on Naruto's desk. "How long do you think this mission will run?" she asked.

"I'll expect you all home in four days at the most, two days to get there and back, and two days in the village. I'd prefer you be back sooner if possible," Naruto stroked his chin, contemplating. "Yeah, the sooner the better. Just get in and get out, okay?"

"All right, Leiji agreed, removing her Konoha headband perched at the top of her head. She slid off her robe and handed it to her father, along with the headband. She shuddered at how naked she felt without the headband. It had become a part of her after so many years.

Hachi and Karin returned, each with a new eye color. Karin's eyes were truly as blue as Naruto's, and she now looked even more like his daughter. Hachi's eyes, however, were now a rich chocolate brown, just like Tenten's. They both looked so different.

Once all evidence of Konoha and been erased from their bodies (Leiji and Karin had to cover their ANBU tattoos with a heavy layer of concealing make-up), the three began their day-long trek to the Stone Village.

"Okay, spill it," Karin said as soon so the gates of Konoha were behind them. "What happened to you last night?" Hachi went rigid as Leiji tiredly rubbed at her eyes. Karin noticed this and her newly blue eyes widened in shock. "Oh, my God!" she cried as realization hit her. "You guys had _sex! _You guys had _drunken _sex!_" _

"Say that a little louder and the whole village will hear you," Leiji said dryly.

"It's nothing to be made a spectacle of," Hachi added, feeling a blush creeping up his cheeks.

"If it hadn't been for that damn jungle juice," Leiji muttered, trailing off.

"So it's my fault?" Karin asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm responsible for you guys getting it on just because I told you to take a drink?"

"I never said-."

"That's _awesome_," Karin interrupted her best friend, clapping her hands in excitement. "I got you two together! Finally! So are you officially going out now or are there still going to be super secret meetings?"

Hachi smacked his palm to his forehead and trailed it slowly down his face. "I still think there's the minor issue of clan rivalry."

Leiji nodded in agreement, "If anything, what happened will just make things worse with our situation, especially if our fathers find out."

"Do you think anyone saw you?" Karin asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling and demanding the juicy details.

Leiji shook her head viciously, "No, everyone was pretty busy with the party."

"Do you remember any of it?" Karin demanded.

"Barely," Leiji admitted.

"It's a blur," Hachi agreed.

Leiji desperately wanted to change the subject. She felt bad enough that it had happened in the first place, and she didn't need her best friend to constantly beg for details. Finally she asked, "Who was that guy you were all over last night?"

"Who, Shinbo?" She asked, giggling with excitement. "He's a Jounin. He assists on S-class missions that are outside of the Country of Fire," she explained. "He's our age but we never saw him at the academy because he graduated super early."

Leiji raised an eyebrow. Karin's rambling could only mean one thing.

"And we're going out as soon as I return from this mission," Karin concluded.

"Oh boy," Leiji muttered, rolling her eyes. "That should be an interesting date. Does he know that you're the hokage's daughter?"

"Well, no," Karin admitted, "but I'll tell him eventually. When boys find out I'm the hokage's _only _daughter, it tends to intimidate them for some reason."

"That's _because_ you're the hokage's daughter," Hachi put in. "Men tend to be terrified of a girl's _normal _father. The fact that you're the daughter of someone important just makes the fear ten times worse."

Leiji gave him a questioning look. "Are you afraid of my father?"

"Terrified," Hachi admitted, smirking. "Even more so after what happened last night."

"Don't be," Leiji said, "he's just my dad."

"Exactly," Hachi replied. Both girls stared him. "You wouldn't understand unless you were a man," he explained.

The rest of the walk to the village consisted of Karin's never-ending questions about the party and a quick stop in a small country town for lunch. By the time the group reached the Stone Village the sun had fallen behind the tree line and the sky was painted an inky purple in the setting sun. They stopped at the massive stone gates as a guard approached them.

"Who are you and what is your business here?" he asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"We are from the Lightning Village," Hachi answered smoothly. He pulled out a fake ID Naruto had given him before they left the village and showed it to the guard. "We are on our way to the Land of Tea and need a place to rest for the night."

The guard examined Hachi's ID carefully. "What business do you have in the Land of Tea?"

"We are traders," Leiji put in, showing the man her own fake ID. "We're on our way to pick up supplies." Being helpful, Karin quietly pulled out her ID for the guard to look at.

After a moment of careful speculation, the guard finally looked up and motioned for the gatekeepers to open the doors. He wished them a good journey and bowed as they entered the village that was so different from Konoha. The buildings were all made from roughly cut stone and stood tall and menacing, casting long shadows on the street. Everything was a dull brown against the cool grey buildings.

Once they were out of earshot, Karin pulled a map of the village from her pocket and examined it. "Okay, it looks like the military district is to the east, not far from here," she explained, pointing in the direction she believed it to be. "I say we find a place to eat as close to area as possible and see what we can pick up through eavesdropping."

Leiji nodded in approval and glanced at the map. "It looks like there's a café right outside of the district. I think that would be our best bet."

"I agree," Hachi said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out three small objects that looked a bit like ear buds. "These will help us to hear other's conversations better and they will be easily hidden by our hair."

"Where did you get these?" Karin asked, taking one carefully from his palm.

"They were a gift from my father," Hachi explained. "The Byakugon helps us to see, but not to hear, so the Hyuuga clan invented these."

"That's incredible," Leiji marveled, examining the ear bud between her fingers.

"Don't put them in until we are seated at the café," Hachi went on. "If one were to wear these while just walking around, they tend to pick up some things they didn't want to hear."

"Like raging sex?" Karin asked with a giggle. Hachi slowly closed his eyes and sighed.

Leiji placed the ear bud in her pocket and turned in the direction of the military district. "I'm starving," she admitted, "so let's find this place before it gets too late."

Once they were seated at the dingy and deserted café, the three teenagers all found a way to inconspicuously place the bud into their ears. Karin pretended to be putting earrings in while Leiji pretended that something was bothering her ear. Hachi simply rested his cheek in his palm and pushed the bud into his ear. They glanced around to make sure they had accomplished this unnoticed.

An overweight waitress with an attitude took down their orders and stormed away chomping on a large piece of gum. Once she was gone, Hachi leaned over the table to whisper to Leiji and Karin, who were sitting across from him. "Just lean back and let the buds do their work. They'll pick up anything said in this restaurant clearly and even some things that are said outside. Take note of what you hear, the smallest thing could be important." He shot up and rested his hands in his lap as two men in their early thirties entered the café. They were obviously military men.

The men sat at a booth on the other side of the deserted café and motioned for the waitress. She grudgingly took their orders before waddling back to the kitchen. The men leaned forward, talking in low whispers that the ear buds picked up loud and clear.

"Did you see the way Ritsu dodged those shuriken at practice today?" the first man asked, his thick beard bobbing up and down as he spoke.

"The poor kid will never survive in wartime," the second man agreed. "He dodges blindly. The kid's lucky to walk away unwounded."

The bearded man nodded. "Aside from the dumb kid, our military strength has greatly increased since our last war. With luck, the attack will go smoothly."

The second man rubbed his hands together and grinned. "Konoha won't know what hit it. They've grown so used to peace; it seems they are not prepared for war."

"We will take them out with ease on our way to the Land of Waves," the bearded man agreed. "The country will soon be in our control."

Leiji widened her eyes and glanced across the table at Hachi. He nodded curtly at her, a sign to stay calm. She glanced to her side and noticed Karin was deep in thought, chewing slowly on her lower lip. The conversation between the two men was all they needed to hear.

Their food arrived, startling them out of their thoughts. The two men across the restaurant had changed the topic of their conversation to a man named Kotaru's new wife. The three ate quickly in silence and left the money for their food on the table next to their empty plates. The found a motel on the other side of the village and checked in. It wasn't until they were safely behind the closed door of their shared room that Hachi finally spoke.

"It seems an attack is imminent," he said with a sigh.

"But we don't know when to expect an attack. It could be a month from now, or even tomorrow for all we know," Karin said worriedly.

"That's why we leave first then in the morning and alert the villagers," Leiji said. "Konoha is now officially preparing for war."

**I was going to keep adding to this chapter, but it's already almost ten pages long, and my fingers hurt (sad face). Anyway, to be continued in chapter eight! I also actually went back and edited this chapter. With luck, there are no mistakes this time …I feel like a lean, mean, updating machine! **


	8. Three Little Birds

**I now have over 100 hits on this story…that excites me greatly! In four days it went from 17 to over 100….keep reading guys!**

"_Don't worry about a thing,  
Cause every little thing is gonna be all right."  
-Bob Marley_

Early the next morning, Karin was up and ready before the others. She shook Leiji awake, who slowly lifted her sleepy eyes from her pillow and glared at her.

"What is it?" she asked, yawning, as she nuzzled back in into the pillow.

"I'm going to find a store and get some food and water for the trip back," Karin explained. "It shouldn't take too long. We'll leave immediately after I get back."

Leiji rolled over and groggily rubbed her eyes. "All right," she said, forcing herself to sit up. "Stick to light food that we can carry easily. We can always stop in that town from yesterday for lunch."

Karin shook her head, sending her blonde hair fanning around her. "I'd rather get back as fast as we can, without stopping."

"You're right," Leiji agreed. She glanced at Hachi, who had been sleeping on the other side of the room. He had woken up when the girls started talking, and he now waited patiently for them to finish their conversation. "We'll be ready to leave when you get back."

"Okay," Karin said as she threw open the motel room door. She grinned and winked in Leiji's direction as the door closed behind her.

"Good morning," Hachi said pleasantly. Leiji wasn't sure if he had caught Karin's wink or not.

Leiji stretched and heard her back pop. "All that sleep last night was amazing," she remarked as she reached forward to touch her toes.

"Mm-hmm," Hachi hummed absently. He got up from his bed and walked over to the other bed that Karin and Leiji had shared the night before. Wordlessly, he sat at Leiji's side. She opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing, but before she could speak he said, "I want to apologize for what happened at Yuki's party."

Leiji shook her head quickly. "Really, there's no need to apologize. I think it was more my fault. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"No, you shouldn't be apologizing. If anything it was both of our faults," he closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. "I want you to know what I really intended for us."

"What?" Leiji asked, not fully understanding what he was saying. Suddenly, Hachi's lips were pressed gently against hers. His hand caressed her cheek as she leaned back, propping herself up on her elbows.

His lips left hers and brushed lightly against her neck. She tilted her back at the slight pressure as his lips formed a trail from the base of her neck to her earlobe, which he sucked gently on before returning to her lips. His fingers curled around the hem of her t-shirt and he lifted it up just enough to reveal her smooth, flat stomach.

Hachi lowered himself and trailed several kisses along her stomach. No one in the group had had enough notice to pack extra clothes before leaving for the mission, and Leiji was wearing only her t-shirt and panties as makeshift pajamas. Hachi was clad only in boxers as well. His fingers traced the top of her panties before pressing his lips back to her mouth. His hand moved to rub her sides and brush lightly over her stomach. He lifted the shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor, then returned to the kiss.

"Hachi?" Leiji whispered against his lips. Her body ached for him to love her.

He pulled back slightly and pressed his forehead against hers, looking deeply into her onyx eyes. "Hmm?"

She bit her lip, unable to break away from his gaze. "Do you have-."

"Yes," he whispered. He lifted himself off of her and walked to his bed, where his clothes were folded neatly. He reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a condom, then returned to Leiji's bed.

"Where do you keep getting those?" she asked skeptically.

Hachi gave her a nervous smile. "I took them from my parent's room," he explained. "I grabbed this before we left for the mission, just in case." Without another word, he lowered himself back over her and trailed the gentlest of kisses up her neck before placing them back to her lips. He pulled away slowly, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes," Leiji whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He moved his hands to the hem of her panties and pulled them off, tossing them over the side of the bed. He kissed the most sensitive spot of her sex and arched her back at the sensation. His boxers joined her panties on the floor and he slid the condom on with ease.

Hachi hooked his arms underneath Leiji's and grasped her shoulders as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He slid into her slowly, and began moving back and forth against her. Leiji's body arched at every small movement, and her breath turned slow and sensual.

His lips caught hers and Leiji sighed against them as she arched her back to press herself against Hachi. She had never felt this close to him, and she didn't want the feeling to end.

He continued to move against her, his skin brushing lightly against hers as he kept up his gentle movements. Leiji closed her eyes as a feeling of weightlessness overpowered her and her arms fell slack against the soft bed. She had never experienced a feeling like this, and she relished every moment of it. Hachi tensed against her as his release overtook him and he buried his face in her neck, groaning quietly into her warm flesh.

After a few moments of stillness, he lifted himself off of her and propped himself up on his side. Leiji's chest rose and fell in slow cycles and Hachi trailed his eyes up her body until he met her gaze. She lifted her hand and brushed it against his cheek. Hachi closed his eyes at her touch and he leaned in to place a kiss on her soft lips.

"I love you, Uchiha Leiji."

Her breath caught in her throat at his words. Shocked, she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck. She was surprised to find that her eyes were brimming with tears.

"L-Leiji?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her. "What's wrong? Did I-?"

"I love you too, Hachi," she wailed into his chest. "I do! But…but…" Her tears came on so strong she was suddenly unable to speak.

Hachi's hold on her tightened and he lovingly stroked her hair. "It's our fathers, isn't it?" She nodded miserably and he placed a firm kiss on her forehead. "Don't worry about them. For now, it's only us. We will deal with our fathers when we have to."

The lock on the motel room door clicked open and Leiji and Hachi broke away from each other and pulled the blanket up to cover themselves. Karin stepped into the room, whistling happily and stopped mid tune as her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh, God!" she cried, dropping the bag of food and covering her eyes. "Sorry! God, I'm sorry! I'll just be outside until your, uh, decent. She slammed the door and Leiji and Hachi sprang from the bed and pulled their clothes on as fast as they could. Wordlessly, they gathered their supplies and bolted into the hallway where Karin was impatiently waiting.

"Um, ready to go?" Leiji asked as casually as she could.

Karin grinned, "Yeah, let's get a move on!" She winked at the two. "And nice job, guys."

-0-

They arrived at the gates of Konoha just before sunset. The one and only Kakashi Hatake sat at the entrance of the village, a book in his hand. As the three teenagers approached, he raised his eyes from his book and lifted a hand in greeting.

"Naruto asked me to stake out at the gates and wait for you," he explained. He pocketed his book and stood in front of them. Leiji and Karin looked at Kakashi with interest. He was like an uncle to them and always seemed to pop into their lives when they least expected it. "What's the situation?"

Leiji looked Kakashi squarely in the eye. "Gather the ANBU together," she instructed, "and call the entire village to the Hokage's Tower for a town meeting." Her fingers curled into tight fists as her gaze hardened. "As of right now, Konoha is officially preparing for war."

-0-

An hour later, Naruto stood at the top of the tower dressed in the traditional hokage's robes. Sasuke stood at his side with arms crossed, scowling, and Leiji stood behind them with the rest of the ANBU Black Ops. Naruto had his hands clasped behind his back and stared solemnly out at the people of Konoha, who had gathered at the base of the tower. Finally he stepped forward and cleared his throat. The people quieted and turned their attention to their hokage.

"Attention everyone," Naruto began, his low and thick with worry, "I have called you all here to inform you that Konoha is officially at risk for war. We have evidence that the Stone Village is planning an attack against us. We don't know when they will attack, which is why we must begin to prepare for war. Today.

"The following things need to take place immediately. All Genin, Chuunin, and Jounin must begin extra training, focusing on target practice using only moving targets, hand-to-hand combat and scanning areas for signs of an enemy.

"Security around the village will be increased and no one will be allowed past the village gates under any circumstance.

"All disaster shelters need to be cleaned and stocked with nonperishable foods and water, and the hospital must release patients that are not in critical condition in order to make room for the wounded. All patients who require constant doses of medication will receive them at their homes free of charge."

Naruto sighed and lowered his head. "Everyone must work together in order to be fully prepared for the coming war. I'm sorry that we have to do this, but we must be prepared to fight in order to save our village." Naruto scanned the crowd, "Thank you, everyone." He turned and disappeared back into the tower.

**I'm sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I felt it would be appropriate to end it here. I'm pretty sure the next one will be longer! And remember, every time you review, a Twilight book burns to ashes! **


	9. Ninja

**Hooray for comic relief chapters! Enjoy…**

"_I'm gonna flip out, like a ninja, cause that's ninjas do._

_Come join me, and flip out, and you'll be a ninja too!"_

_-7 Seconds of Love_

"Leiji, wake up, wake up! I have to be at the academy early today, remember?" Kyo cried as he burst into Leiji's room and jumped onto her bed. He began bouncing up and down by her legs as he begged her to wake up.

She sighed and rolled over, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Kyo was still clad in his pajamas and his favorite teddy bear was grasped tightly in his hand. He was still jumping happily on her bed, grinning as he bounced.

"Am I supposed to take you in your pajamas?" Leiji asked as she sat up, moving her feet out of Kyo's way.

Kyo stopped his bouncing and returned to the floor. "I'll go get dressed now! Hurry up, Leiji, I have to be there soon!" With that, he bounded out of his sister's room and returned to his own.

Sighing, Leiji pulled herself out of bed, her muscles aching with every move. It had been a month and a half since Naruto had the village meeting, and she had been working the ANBU, and herself, to the limit since. Working so hard had left her little time to see Hachi, but they still had their secret meetings a few times a week.

Kyo ran back into her room now fully dressed with his back pack around his shoulders. "Hey, why aren't you dressed yet?" he whined. "You're supposed to take me to the academy!"

"Calm down, Kyo," Leiji replied tiredly. She shoved her brother out of her room and slammed the door in his face. She quickly pulled on a pair of yoga pants and a loose-fitting red shirt. She whisked her hair into a ponytail, deciding she would get ready for training after dropping off Kyo. She reopened her door where Kyo was waiting with a scowl on his face. "Let's go," she said as she grabbed him the wrist and began dragging him to the academy.

When she got back to the house everyone had left except for Sakura, who was in the kitchen munching on a quick breakfast and going over her medical journals. Since Naruto's declaration of war, Sakura had spent less time at the hospital and more time at home going over complex medical procedures through her books and surgical tapes.

"Hey, mom?" Leiji said as she poked her head into the kitchen.

Sakura raised her eyes from her book. "Yes?"

Fidgeting, Leiji sat at the table across from her mother. "Well, I-."

"Is this about Hachi?" Sakura asked.

"Well, yes," Leiji admitted. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Of course not," Sakura replied, waving her hand nonchalantly. "What's going on?"

"It would just be nice to be able to see him openly, instead of in secret like I have been," Leiji said simply.

"I know you've been seeing him," Sakura replied as she took a sip of her coffee. "Is there anything else you've been doing that you'd like to tell me about?" Sakura raised her eyebrow.

Leiji winced. It was like she knew.

"I imagine you've had sex with him?"

Leiji sighed. She did know. "Yes, just once. Well, twice actually." She looked down at her hands. "Are you mad?"

"Mad? Of course not," Sakura replied, laughing lightly. "Was I mad about Yuki?"

"Well, no."

"Then why would I be mad about this?"

Leiji was slightly taken about. She wasn't expecting her mother to act like this. "Good point. I just wanted-."

"You wanted me to talk to Sasuke about letting you see Hachi again."

"Stop reading my mind!" Leiji cried, holding back a laugh. "Yes, that's what I would like you to do."

Sakura snickered. "Well I've pretty much exhausted my resources on that topic," she admitted, "however; I may have one more trick up my sleeve."

"What's that?" Leiji asked curiously.

Sakura placed a finger to her lips. "It's a secret." She glanced at the kitchen clock. "It's almost eight; shouldn't you be going to train the ANBU?"

Leiji jumped up from her chair. "I'm going to be late!" With that, she ran out of the kitchen and to the ANBU's special training grounds for another day of hardcore war preparation.

-0-

The sun was hanging over the horizon by the time Leiji was finished training the ANBU. She trailed behind Karin on their way to the Uzumaki household. Karin was absolutely exhausted as well and she couldn't wait to lie down on her couch and watch stupid TV shows with her best friend.

When they entered the house, Hinata was sitting cross-legged on the couch with one of Sakura's medical books in her hands. Once Naruto had become hokage, Hinata had taken job as a nurse at the local hospital so she could be at home and take care of Karin. Sakura had been lending her the medicals so she could get caught up with the procedure for wartime.

Hinata glanced up from her books when the girls entered the door. "Oh, h-hello. How was training?"

"Awful!" Karin complained as she flopped onto the couch. "Leiji keeps working us to the bone!"

"Hey!" Leiji cried. "I have too! Besides, I'm working just as hard as the rest of you!"

Hinata snickered. "You girls never seem to change, do you?"

Naruto came into the living room, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He had just woken up from a long nap and his growling stomach could be heard throughout the entire house. "Hey everybody," he greeted with a wave. "Hinata, there are a few clergymen coming over to the house tonight for an impromptu meeting, so what do you say we go grab some ramen before they show up?"

"Oh, s-sure Naruto," Hinata stammered as she placed the book on the coffee table and stood.

Naruto turned to Leiji and Karin. "Do you guys want to come?"

Karin wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Gross daddy, you know I hate ramen."

"You are not my child!" Naruto shrieked, pointing a finger at Karin as he slammed the door.

With the house empty, Karin turned her attention back to Leiji. "Clergymen, gross. That won't be any fun. Want to have a sleepover at your house instead?"

Leiji rolled her eyes. "Sure."

When they arrived at the Uchiha household, Tai was perched in the living room, a book of advanced jutsu in one hand and his inhaler in the other. Hideki could be heard strumming his guitar in his room and Kyo was in the back yard training with Sasuke.

"Hello ladies," Sakura greeted. "Are you two hungry?"

"Starving!" Karin replied. "Dad went out with mom for ramen. So gross."

"It's hard to believe he's your father," Sakura muttered, shaking her head. "Anyway, there are leftovers in the fridge."

"Thanks, mom," Leiji said as she made her way to the kitchen. She paused and turned to glance at her mother. "Did you do that thing you said you'd do?"

"Not yet," Sakura said with a wink. "That won't come until much later. It's far too early for that."

"What thing?" Karin asked as Sakura disappeared from view.

Sasuke sauntered into the kitchen with Kyo for a glass of water and Leiji quickly turned away. "I'll tell you later," she promised as the girls began digging through the refrigerator for food. Once they had gathered up enough snacks the girls bounded up the stars to Leiji's room and closed the door behind them.

It was nice to finally get a chance to act like teenagers after all of the training they had been going through. They sat cross-legged on Leiji's bed with the radio blasting and a bowl of chips between them. Karin had brought a magazine and she was admiring the latest fashions and giggling over the boys modeling inside it. After a few hours, she glanced up at Leiji and asked, "Hey, can I borrow some pajamas? I just realized I forgot to pack them."

"Sure," Leiji replied with a shrug. She waved a hand towards her dresser. "Pick whatever you want."

"Thanks," Karin said as she bounced off the bed and pulled open Leiji's dresser drawer. It was then that Leiji noticed a strange light from the inside of her closet. As Karin peeled her shirt off to change, Leiji crossed the room, grabbing a bottle of body mist as she went, and inched closer to her closet.

"Is it okay if I wear these?" Karin asked, holding up a black tank top with the Ghostbusters logo on it. She grabbed the matching pajama shorts out of the drawer too.

"Go ahead," Leiji said as she slowly raised the bottle of body mist. Just as Karin began to pull down her sweat pants, Leiji blasted a good, hard squirt of body mist into the hole she had just discovered in her closet. An unmistakable cry of pain came from Hideki's bedroom and she heard the sounds of someone staggering backward.

"Uh, what was that?" Karin asked, giving Leiji a quizzical look.

"Come with me," Leiji said in a monotone as she threw open her bedroom door.

Karin tugged her pants and t-shirt back on and followed her to Hideki's room, which was right next to Leiji's. Without knocking, Leiji nearly punched Hideki's door open and barged in.

Hideki sat on his bed, one hand raised and rubbing at his reddened eye that was dripping with pained tears. "What the hell did you do that for?" he cried.

Angrily, Leiji grabbed her brother by the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. "Did you get a look you little perv?" she demanded.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked from the doorway. His eyebrow was raised and his arms were crossed.

Leiji dropped Hideki's shirt and turned to her father. "He drilled a hole between our closets so he could spy on Karin getting undressed!"

"W-what?" Sasuke asked, giving his son an odd look. "Why would you do that?"

Hideki crossed his arms and glared. "Hello? Have you seen her _boobs?_ They're like cantaloupes strapped to her chest!"

"Hideki!" Leiji cried at the same time Karin shrieked, "What?"

Sasuke smacked his hand to his forehead and slowly dragged it down his face. What was happening to his son? He glanced at Leiji. "What did you do to his eye?"

Leiji still had the bottle of body mist in her hand and she slowly handed it to her father. He took it looked it up and down. Sighing he turned back to Hideki. "You'll be fixing that hole yourself. Go flush out your eye."

"You're letting him off that easy?" Leiji cried as her brother left the room.

Sasuke pulled his fingers through his hair. "What do you want me to do? He's a thirteen year-old boy. You're the one who sprayed this crap in his eye. Just go back to your room." Before Leiji had a chance to react he had left the room.

Karin had a look of pure confusion plastered on her face. "What was that about?" she asked Leiji. "He usually _always _takes your side, no matter what!"

"I-I know," Leiji stammered, taken aback. "That was…weird."

"Do you think it has to do with Hachi?" Karin asked once they were safely back in Leiji's room.

She shook her head and a fan of black hair cascaded around her face. "He hasn't mentioned Hachi or anything. Not since the information gathering mission."  
"Oh, my God, do you think he _knows_?" Karin asked, her eyes wide.

"Nah," Leiji replied simply. "He'd never think that. My mom knows though. She's going to try and convince him to let me go out with him publicly. Apparently she has some excellent trick up her sleeve."

Karin stroked her chin thoughtfully. "I wonder what she's going to do."

Later on, after Kyo had been tucked into bed and the house had fallen quiet, Sasuke retreated into the shower. Now that she was alone, Sakura took the opportunity to dig into the deepest depths of her closet, pulling a very sexy piece of red lace lingerie. Her plan would work, she just knew it.

She quickly slipped into the lacy number. Sasuke hadn't seen it on her in years, and chances were he had probably forgetting she had owned it. He was in for a big surprise when he was done with his shower. Sakura heard the water shut off and she quickly jumped into the bed and positioned herself so that she was facing the bathroom door. She leaned back on her hands and crossed her legs, waiting.

Sasuke exited the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He began to walk to his dresser for a pair of boxers then paused and did a double take. "S-Sakura?"

She got up slowly and walked towards him, swinging her hips seductively as she approached. She stood behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders, massaging them gently. Leaning forward on her tip-toes, she whispered quietly into his ear, "Come with me."

She led him to the bed and sat him down at the edge. She crawled up behind him and began the massage again. As Sasuke leaned his head back, Sakura leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips, sucking lightly at his lower lip. He moaned into her mouth and her kisses trailed down his neck and onto his shoulder.

Unable to take it any long, Sasuke turned around, pushing Sakura down to lie flat on the bed, and climbed on top of her. He caught her mouth with his and began kissing her vigorously, His hand massaged her lace-covered breast and he grinded himself against her.

As much as she was enjoying it, Sakura knew she had to stop before things got too far. She clutched the back of Sasuke's hair and tugged him off of her lips. "Sasuke," she whispered, her voice thick with want.

"Hm?" he hummed, trying to reclaim her lips.

"I really think," here she reached down into his towel and began stroking him, "that Leiji should be allowed to date Hachi."

Sasuke pulled back, scowling. "We're not discussing this," he informed her as he began kissing her neck.

"But we should," Sakura moaned into his ear.

Nearly growling with anger, Sasuke stood and glared at his wife. "No, Sakura, I'm not discussing this. Ever."

"Fine," Sakura said simply. She pulled the blankets over her and rested her head on her pillow. "Then no sex for you."

Sasuke stepped back, shock written all over his face. "_What?"_

"You heard me," Sakura said simply. She faked a huge yawn before rolling over onto her side. "Good night, Sasuke."

Sasuke stared at his wife for a moment. "Sakura?"

"Sasuke, I'm trying to sleep," Sakura responded, pulling the blankets over her ears.

Speechless, Sasuke pulled on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. He needed to snack on a couple of ripe, juicy cherry tomatoes to calm his now raging hormones. _Damn her_, he thought to himself as he stepped outside their room, _it must have been her plan all along. _

"So, what was it like?"

Sasuke froze at Karin's voice coming from behind Leiji's closed bedroom door.

"It was…different. Soft, and sweet," he heard Leiji respond.

"Wow," Karin replied. At this point Sasuke had all but pressed his ear against the door. "Sex with Hachi sounds better than any other guy."

Sasuke clenched his fists and ground his teeth. He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"It was," he heard Leiji say. "He told me he loved me."

That was all Sasuke needed to hear. He stormed back into room and shook Sakura's shoulder.

"Did you know about this?" he roared.

"Know about what?" Sakura asked, clearly frightened by his anger.

"About our daughter," he ground his teeth as he tried to get the words out. "That sick Hyuuga bastard stealing her…her innocence!"

"Oh please, Sasuke, Yuki stole her 'innocence' almost two years ago," Sakura quickly clapped her hand over her mouth when she realized what she had said.

"What?" he nearly shouted, seething with anger.

"Calm down, Sasuke," Sakura begged. "Please, it's not that big of a deal."

"It is a _huge_ deal!" Sasuke roared as he threw open his bedroom door, stormed across the hall, and burst into Leiji's room. His glare moved from Karin to Leiji and back to Karin. "You," he pointed to the blond, "go home. _Now."_

"Dad!" Leiji cried in shock, "What are you doing?"

"Now, Karin," Sasuke demanded again, pointing to the door.

"All right," she said quietly as she stood. "I'll call you, Leiji."

"No you won't," Sasuke responded, "because she doesn't have a phone anymore."

"But dad, I need it to arrange training sessions with the ANBU!" Leiji argued, wondering what was going on with her father.

"You can do that from my phone," Sasuke replied simply. He watched as Karin made her way down the stairs, then returned back to Leiji. "Leiji Mikoto Uchiha," he snarled, his face inches from her own, "if I hear even a _whisper_ of you hanging out with that Hyuuga again, I will personally see to it that your position as leader of ANBU Blacks Ops will be revoked."

"D-dad?" Leiji stammered.

"I am not discussing this further."

The door slammed and Leiji was left to stare at the door in utter confusion.

**Way too tired to go back and edit, so sorry if there's missing words and what not….hope you enjoyed! **


	10. Bookends

**Wow, there's only a few more chapters left….here we go!**

"_Time it was, and what a time it was, it was_

_A time of innocence, a time of confidences. _

_Long ago it must be, I have a photograph _

_Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you." _

_-Simon and Garfunkel _

The morning was surprisingly cool for midsummer. A gray haze hung over Konoha and rain sprinkled lightly onto the streets. Leiji awoke to the sound of it hitting softly against her window. As she sat up in bed, her room dark from the lack of sunlight outside, she noticed it was nearly seven. She needed to be ready to train the ANBU in an hour, and her muscles screamed at her to stay in bed all day. With the punishment her father had given over a month ago, she had nothing better to do than train extra hard.

Even without her phone, Leiji had still found ways to see Hachi. Karin exchanged messages between the two, and had covered for her when she had gone to see him a few times. Her father had been cold to her since the sleepover with Karin, and Sakura had explained to her why that was. Unfortunately, not even Sakura was able to break Sasuke's anger towards the situation.

Slowly, Leiji pulled herself out of bed, stretching as she stood. Her arms and legs were on fire from being so overworked, and she groaned loudly as she popped her back. She decided all she needed was a warm shower to relax her tired muscles. She opened her door and peeked out into the hallway. No one had left the house yet, all of their doors were closed and their lights were off. Quietly, she sneaked down the hallway and turned on the shower. She undressed slowly, trying to avoid any more pain and stepped into the warm water.

Her hair had hardly had a chance to get wet when a loud siren began wailing throughout the village. Leiji nearly slipped as she jumped out of the shower, throwing a towel around her and running back to her room as quickly as she could. The time had come. The Stone Village was attacking.

Leiji tugged on a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt before throwing on her ANBU robes and slipping the mask over her face. As she ran back into the hall, she saw her father talking to Tai while trying to calm Kyo at the same time.

"Stay here," Sasuke instructed his son. "Watch Kyo and stay in the basement where it's safe."

"Don't go, daddy!" Kyo cried, clinging to his father's pants. "Stay here, please!"

"I have to go, Kyo," Sasuke replied as he worked to pry himself free of Kyo's tight grasp. "Stay in the basement and Tai will watch you. I'll come back and check on you two every once in a while."

Kyo's lower lip trembled as he slowly let go of his father. Sasuke turned and dashed down the stairs and Leiji followed quickly after him.

Outside smoke rose in various places throughout the village and the sirens wailed on relentlessly. Leiji had given all of the ANBU specific coordinates in the village for them to be stationed at when the war finally came. Leiji had assigned herself to the northwest side of the village. As she jumped from tree to tree in the forest, she kept a sharp, Sharingan eye out for any signs of movement.

A Stone ninja appeared from the darkness of the forest and Leiji took him down with ease. The sounds of war reverberated throughout the village, screams of pain, and shouting voices rang on throughout the trees. The smell of fear and blood and was thick in the air as Leiji bore her way through the forest. She was almost at her vantage point.

Someone darted in front of her and she grabbed a kunai, ready to attack.

"Whoa, hold it!" Hachi cried as he held up his hands. "It's just me. I'm supposed to scope out the northwest side."

Leiji let out a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that, I'm really on edge."

"On edge?" Hachi asked, raising an eyebrow at her as they continued jumping through the trees. "You look like you're about to pass out. I don't even need to see your face. Your eyes and the way you're carrying yourself tells all."

"I'm just a little sore from all the training," Leiji replied simply, her eyes focusing straight ahead.

"You're exhausted," Hachi said. "You can't deny that. You're pushing yourself to the limit just going through the trees."

"Shut up, Hachi," Leiji snarled, "I can't be tired. I have to-." Her eyes suddenly widened in shock as she fell forward, a small gasping sound escaping her lips.

"Leiji!" Hachi cried, reaching his arms out to catch her before she reached the ground.

They hit the ground together and it was then that Hachi noticed the kunai jutting from the middle of her back. Wordlessly he tugged off her mask to see her face. Her Sharingan had vanished and he could see in her eyes that she was fighting for consciousness.

"Damn it," he whispered, "Stay awake. You can't pass out."

"I-I'm all right," she stammered, her voice low and breathy. "I can still fight."

Hachi stared at her. She clearly didn't know the extent of her injury. He feared she might not even be able to feel it. The kunai was in very deep. "I'm taking you to the hospital," he said as he scooped her up in his arms.

"No Hachi, I'm fine," she responded, weakly pushing him away.

"Don't be stubborn," he growled as he leapt back towards the village. "You're seriously hurt."

The hospital was over crowded with people injured in war. Blood spotted the floor all over the emergency room and every cot was filled. Some of the injured had to sit on the floor, leaning against the wall to be treated. Hachi wasted no time with the emergency room. He walked up the nurses' station, careful not to shift Leiji in his arms, and demanded to see Sakura.

"She's very busy," the nurse said without glancing up from her piles of paperwork. "You'll have to wait in the emergency room like everyone else."

"There is no time for that," Hachi snarled, his voice low and menacing. "I must see her _now."_

It was then that the nurse finally lifted her eyes from her papers. Her eyes widened in shock when she realized who he was carrying. She took in the kunai in the semi-conscious Leiji's back and leapt from her chair. "I'll get her immediately. Stay right there!" she called as ran down the hallway.

Sakura appeared a moment later, wiping sweat off her brow and looking exhausted. She took in the sight of her injured daughter and snapped awake. "I need a stretcher over here _now!" _she called to a nearby nurse, who jumped at the command and ran to find a free stretcher. Sakura turned to Hachi, "How did this happen?"

"It must have been her blind spot," Hachi replied. "She was focusing so hard on moving forward she must have not been paying attention to what was going on behind her." He lowered his eyes. "I should have seen it. I could have stopped it."

"It's not your fault," Leiji groaned, trying to wiggle out of his arms.

"She's right," Sakura replied. "I'm just glad you were there so you could bring her here."

The stretcher arrived and Hachi cautiously set Leiji on it. Sakura stood behind her daughter and carefully examined the wound. She bit her lip as she took in the damage. Sighing heavily, she walked to the other side of her daughter until she was standing by her feet. She plucked a pen out that was resting behind her ear and tapped Leiji's foot with it. "Can you feel that?"

"No," Leiji replied, widening her eyes. Her breathing became heavy. "Is that bad?"

Frowning, Sakura tapped her calves. "How about that? Can you feel that?"

Leiji slowly shook her head, watching her mother's reactions carefully.

Sakura tapped her pen all the way up Leiji's thigh until she reached her hip. "Did you feel any of that?"

"No, mom," Leiji said, her voice trembling slightly.

Sakura eyed her daughter closely. "Clearly you can move your arms and the rest of your body," she stroked her chin as she spoke, thinking.

"What does all of this mean?" Hachi asked, clearly concerned.

"It means," Sakura exhaled slowly and looked at Leiji, "that you are paralyzed from the waist down. For now. For all we know the paralysis could be spreading."

"I can't be paralyzed!" Leiji shrieked. "Fix it, mom! I need my legs!"

Sakura turned away from her daughter and shouted to the nearest nurse, "I need a CT scan for my daughter, stat! And clear OR 3, we're going to need to it. This kunai needs to come out now!"

"M-mom?" Leiji stammered, looking to her mother with fear in her eyes.

"Calm down," Sakura said, patting Leiji's knee even though she couldn't feel it. "We're going to do our best to restore the feeling in your legs, but keep in mind that you have a serious spinal injury." A nurse came and began to push Leiji's stretcher down a hallway that led to the scanning rooms. Sakura turned to Hachi, "Stay here," she instructed, "I've got more patients than I can handle already. I'll tell the nurses to update you on her condition every chance they get."

"Thank you," Hachi said, trying to remain as calm as possible.

Sakura shook her head. "No, thank you," she placed a hand on Hachi's arm. "If it weren't you, Leiji could very well be dead right now."

-0-

Early evening came. The rain had cleared but the war raged on. Sasuke stood on the rooftop of one of Konoha's tallest buildings, surveying the damage. The Stone Village ninja were slowly but surely beginning to retreat; realizing Konoha's defenses were much stronger than they had anticipated. Some buildings had been lost in battle, but it was nothing that couldn't be replaced. Sasuke decided to take this opportunity to check up on his sons. He had seen Hideki not too long ago fighting off a couple of Stone ninja with one his teammates-he believed her name was Karli.

Sasuke jumped quickly across the village until he landed on the doorstep of his home. He let himself in and was suddenly grabbed by Kyo, who began tugging frantically at his wrist.

"Dad, hurry!" he cried. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he tugged desperately at his father's wrist, trying to get him to move. "I can't find the shot dad! I can't find it anywhere!"

"What shot?" Sasuke asked, trying to pull himself free. "What are you talking about?"

"It's Tai, daddy!" Kyo cried, his chest hitching up and down with each ragged breath. "I can't find Tai's shot!"

Sasuke's eyes widened with realization. He knelt down and grabbed Kyo by the shoulders. "His EpiPen? Is that what you're talking about? Did he have an asthma attack?"

Kyo nodded quickly and began tugging at Sasuke's wrist again. "He's in the basement! I looked all over but couldn't find the shot!"

Sasuke ran down the stairs to the basement, leaving Kyo crying in the living room. Tai was lying on the floor near the stairs and Sasuke knelt beside him. His chest was barely moving. Scowling, Sasuke placed his fingers on his son's neck, feeling for any kind of pulse. What little pulse he had was extremely weak. Sasuke picked him up and ran upstairs, laying him down on the couch. Tai didn't even open his eyes.

"How long as he been like this?" Sasuke demanded as he ran up to the second floor. He knew Sakura kept a spare EpiPen somewhere in their room.

"About half an hour," Kyo replied, jumping from foot to foot in anxiety.

Sasuke frowned. Tai didn't have much time. He burst into his bedroom and began rifling through Sakura's drawers. There was no trace of the pen. Becoming frustrated, he ran into her closet and began opening all of the random boxes piled inside and digging through them, not caring if he messed anything of hers up. Finally he found the extra EpiPen in an old shoebox. He grabbed it and ran back to the living room, taking three stairs at a time. Without hesitation he ran up to his unconscious son and jabbed the needle into his leg.

Tai shot up instantly, taking in a huge, gasping breath. He slouched forward, panting heavily as Sasuke dropped the EpiPen to the floor. He took his son's face in his hands and stared. He was still gasping heavily and Sasuke could tell that one shot wasn't going to be enough. "Damn it," he muttered, "I need to get you to the hospital."

Sasuke glanced at Kyo, who was standing near the stairs hugging his teddy bear tightly to his chest. "C'mon Kyo," he said, squatting down. "Get on my back. We're going to the hospital."

"But-."

"_Now_ Kyo, we can't waste time."

Trembling, Kyo climbed onto his father's back. "Hang on tight," Sasuke urged as he lifted Tai off the couch.

When they arrived at the hospital Kyo was barely hanging on to his father's neck and Sasuke was struggling to keep Kyo from falling off without letting go of Tai. Sakura happened to be passing by when they burst through the doors. "Not again!" she cried. "What happened?"

"Asthma attack," Sasuke said, panting. "The EpiPen wasn't enough; he went too long without it." He suddenly realized what his wife had just said. "What do you mean 'not again'?"

Sakura motioned for a nurse with a stretcher to come over. "Leiji's here too," she explained as they moved Tai to the bed. Sakura gave the nurse quick instructions and she nodded and wheeled Tai away.

"What happened to Leiji?" Kyo cried, clinging tightly to Sasuke's neck.

"She was hit in the spine with a kunai," Sakura explained. "Hachi brought her in. By the time they got here, she was paralyzed from the waist down. I think she's in surgery now."

Sasuke's lip twitched. "The Hyuuga brought her here?"

Exasperated, Sakura sighed deeply. "Would you drop this Hyuuga shit already? If it wasn't for him our daughter would be dead. You should be thanking him, not resenting his very existence." She glanced at Kyo, who had buried his face in Sasuke's neck. "Leave Kyo with me, he can hang out in the hospital's daycare. As for you," she said as she took Kyo into her arms, "get out there and fight the war you should be fighting."

**Bah. I feel like it wasn't as intense as it should have been, but oh well. Hmm, I wonder if Sasuke will finally have a revelation. Probably not…  
Review Please!**


	11. Daughters

**Sorry for the wait! I had to get my wisdom teeth out a few days ago, and it's hard to type while holding an icepack to your face!**

"_Fathers be good to your daughters_

_Daughters will love like you do._

_Girls become lovers, who turn into mothers_

_So mothers be good to your daughters too." _

Three weeks passed since the Stone Village attack. Much of Konoha had been damaged in the cross fires, but the Stone Ninja had retreated by the night of the attack. It seemed that they had realized that Konoha was much more prepared for war than they had anticipated and had run off before they lost too many of their man. The villagers quickly set to work on the damage and now Konoha was almost completely restored.

The day was warm and clear, and the late afternoon sun beat at the top of Sasuke's head as he made his way through the streets of Konoha. The sounds of banging hammers and drills filled the air, and Sasuke inhaled the sweet smell of fresh sawdust on his walk through the streets. He was on his way to the pharmacy to pick up Tai's inhaler refill. He had been released from the hospital the day after he was brought in, breathing easy with a stronger prescription for his asthma.

Sasuke paused as he passed the hospital. Leiji was still in the hospital, in a private room on the third floor. The kunai had been successfully removed from her back a couple of hours after she went into surgery, but her legs were still paralyzed. About a week after her surgery, the feeling in her legs had begun to return, and the hospital staff had immediately started her on physical therapy. Now she was almost walking normally, but still required crutches to get around. The week without movement had caused the muscles in her legs to weaken, and she had to learn how to walk all over again.

Glancing up at the windows that lined the hospital's third story, Sasuke decided to pay his daughter a quick visit. He entered the automatic doors and the nurses smiled, recognizing him from all of the visits his family had been paying to the oldest Uchiha child. He took the elevator to the third floor and made his way down the hallway where his daughter's room was located. He knocked lightly on the door and waited for her to tell him to come in.

He opened the heavy hospital door and stepped into Leiji's room. Her room had a particularly large window that bathed the floor in white light. A nightstand stood by her bed, and sitting on top of it was a vase filled with wildflowers. Sasuke cringed. He didn't need to ask who they were from.

Leiji stood by the window, balancing on her crutches. She smiled as Sasuke walked casually into the room, his hands resting in his pockets.

"Hi, dad," she greeted, "watch this!" To his surprise she leaned her crutches against the wall and began taking careful steps toward him. She was slightly wobbly, and it was obvious that she was working hard to maintain proper balance, but she was walking.

A memory suddenly forced its way through Sasuke's mind. He could see Leiji clearly, at barely a year old, wobbling towards her precious daddy on her small baby feet. He had been the first person she walked to without being bribed with a toy or food.

Sasuke shook the image from his mind. "Are you sure you should be doing that?" he asked as she stopped in front of him.

"Yeah, it's fine," Leiji assured him. "They said I should be able to leave here in a couple of days if I keep walking like this." She paused and glanced down at her feet. "It's weird having to learn how to walk again." She grinned, "So, what are you doing here?"

"I was on my way to pick up Tai's asthma medication," Sasuke explained.

Leiji wrinkled her nose. She had been in surgery when Tai was brought in, but she had heard all about his near-death asthma attack from her mother the next day. "Poor kid," she sighed. Her face suddenly grew serious, "Hey dad?"

"Hn?" he hummed, raising an eyebrow.

"Remember when I was fifteen and dyed my bangs with blue streaks?"

Sasuke cringed. He doubted he would ever forget that disaster. She had come home with deep blue streaks in her bangs and Sakura had simply clapped her hands and encouraged it. He had hated those streaks. "Yeah, what about them?"

"You know I did that because it was one of the Uchiha colors, right?" she said.

Sasuke blinked. "What?"

Leiji shrugged, "I was just trying to show that I was an Uchiha. I'll always be an Uchiha."

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, wondering where she was going with this.

Leiji turned and began to lift up her shirt in the back.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, beginning to wonder if being cooped up in the hospital for so long had made her go crazy.

"Calm down, I want to show you something," Leiji replied calmly. She had lifted her shirt enough to keep the front covered, but her back was completely exposed. "See?"

Sasuke felt his heart clench when he saw the raised and puckered scar in the middle of her back, but his eyes widened as he saw what she wanted to show him. On her right shoulder blade, about an inch and a half tall, was a tattoo of the Uchiha crest.

"When did you get that?" Sasuke asked slowly.

Leiji let her shirt fall back into place and turned back to her father. "When I got the ANBU mark tattooed on my arm," she explained. She was surprised that her father wasn't angry about the tattoo.

"W-why-."

"Because I will always be an Uchiha," she interrupted, her onyx eyes softening. "No matter what happens, that is who I am."

"What are you getting at," Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Nothing," Leiji replied sweetly. "Shouldn't you be getting Tai's medicine?"

"Yeah," Sasuke replied, still confused by his daughter's strange behavior. "We'll all stop by tomorrow."

"Okay," Leiji said with a wave. "Bye, dad."

Sasuke exited the hospital as confused as ever. Of course Leiji would always be an Uchiha; it was the family she was born into. What could she possibly mean? Sighing heavily, he turned to the right and continued on his way to the pharmacy. They were expecting him there; Tai had been using his inhaler a lot more than usual lately and constantly needed refills.

He was less than a block away from the pharmacy when someone caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Sasuke froze as the person noticed him as well.

"Uchiha," Neji Hyuuga growled, narrowing his lavender eyes.

"Hn," Sasuke hummed. He tried to keep walking but stopped dead in his tracks as Neji spoke again.

"I am sick and tired of your daughter screwing around with my son."

"What?" Sasuke snarled. "How dare you say something like that when it's your bastard son who has been corrupting my daughter."

Neji's eyes narrowed into thin slits. "In case you haven't noticed, it is your daughter who has been whoring around. Clearly, you don't keep up with what the kids are discussing these days. It is your daughter who has slept with _both _of her former teammates. She's nothing but a slut."

Before Sasuke even realized what was happening, Neji was five feet up in the air, blood pouring from his nose where Sasuke had punched him.

Neji landed on his feet expertly and charged at Sasuke, the veins from his activated Byakugon pulsing with rage. Sasuke barely had a chance to defend himself when Neji landed a punch in Sasuke's gut then grabbed him by the wrist, swinging him around until he smashed into the window of a local shop.

Shaking glass shards out of his hair, Sasuke ran at the Hyuuga, slapping his hand on the ground and using his wrist to spin himself around. The bottom of his foot connected with Neji's chin and he was sent sailing through the air once more.

This time, Sasuke jumped above Neji who was helplessly flying through the air. Sasuke raised his right leg and prepared to bring his foot down on Neji's stomach, which would send him crashing to the ground.

"Stop!"

The cry was so loud that both Neji and Sasuke came crashing down to the ground, unable to land properly from the shock of the voice.

Naruto stood in front of the two men, his arms crossed and his eyes glancing from Sasuke to Neji. Before either of them had a chance to speak, Naruto said, "Where should I begin?" He began to count out offences on his fingers. "Fighting in public, disturbing the peace, destruction of public property," he quirked an eyebrow, "Need I go on?"

"Look, Naruto," Sasuke began.

"Nope," Naruto interrupted, shaking his head stubbornly. "Everyone is sick of this rivalry between you two. I can't think of a more fitting punishment than to put the two of you in jail or twenty-four hours."

"Hn," Neji hummed. "There are worse things you could do."

"You two will be sharing a cell," Naruto finished, a satisfied smirk on his face.

"What?" they both cried, enraged.

"You can't _do_ that, Naruto," Sasuke growled.

Naruto pointed to himself. "I'm the hokage, I can do anything. Now, you guys can walk to the prison peacefully, or I can get the ANBU over here to force you there."

-0-

An hour later, both Sasuke and Neji sat on opposite sides of their tiny prison cell. Sasuke knew this place well. He had spent many years behind cold iron bars after he had returned to Konoha before he was finally released. Twenty-four hours would be nothing to him.

Hollow footsteps echoed off the walls of the cellblock as someone approached. Both men turned to see who was approaching, and Neji sighed in relief when he saw that it was Tenten.

"Tenten," he said, "I need you to talk to the guard and see if there is a bail-."

Tenten suddenly burst into peals of laughter. "Oh, Neji! Ino told me you were in prison, but I just had to see it for myself!" She continued laughing hysterically, holding her sides. "I have to go get the camera! And Hachi and Sumomo! I can't wait to show them their dad behind bars!" Without another word, Tenten ran off in the direction she had come from, giggling madly all the way.

"That wife of yours," Sasuke said slowly after a moment of silence had passed.

"She's an odd one," Neji agreed.

Meanwhile, Sakura sat in the kitchen of the Uchiha household, a mug of hot coffee in her hands. It had been another long day at the hospital. Most of the ninja injured in war had been released, but the ones in critical condition still required constant attention. She sighed as she propped her aching feet up on the chair next to her, wondering where Sasuke was. She hadn't heard the news yet.

Tai and Kyo were in the backyard; sitting up in the old tree house Leiji had deemed the "Uchiha Fortress" when she was six. Tai was helping Kyo with his homework from the academy. The school had been shut down for a few days after the war during recovery, and there was still a lot of work for the students to catch up on.

Hideki suddenly burst through the front door of the house and ran up to Sakura, out of breath. Her eyes widened in shock at her son, who was red in the face from running so fast.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Dad's in _jail!" _Hideki cried joyously, a huge grin spreading on his face.

"What?" Sakura shrieked. "What happened? And why are you _happy _about this?"

"Because it's hilarious!" Hideki replied, laughing. "He apparently got into some street fight with Neji and Naruto arrested the both of them! Word on the street is, they have to share the same cell as punishment!" He burst into peals of laughter as Sakura widened her eyes in concern.

"I have to go down there!" she cried, jumping up and reaching for her purse. "Hideki, watch your brothers! I'll be back in a little bit."

Sakura ran all the way to the Konoha Penitentiary and burst through the front doors. The officers guarding the front desk recognized her immediately and pointed her in the direction of her husband's cell. She ran down the cell block and skidded to a stop when she reached Sasuke's shared cell.

"What the hell happened?" Sakura shrieked, not bothering to greet her husband.

"It's a…simple misunderstanding," Sasuke replied calmly. "Did Naruto contact you about this?"

"No, Hideki did," Sakura explained, crossing her arms in frustration. "He came home laughing about it! He thinks this whole thing is hilarious!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He was not at all surprised about Hideki's ability to find humor in this situation. "I'll be out tomorrow afternoon," Sasuke said, "Naruto only put us in here for twenty-four hours."

Sakura sighed, "Well that's a relief, I suppose. But Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"If you _ever_ pull something like this again, I'll make your life a living hell," Sakura said with the sweetest smile. "I'll see you tomorrow. Love you," Sakura said in a sing-song as she walked back down the cellblock. Before the echoes of Sakura's footsteps had faded into the walls, Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of the two men.

"Hey you two, how are things going?" Kakashi greeted, his nose stuck in a book as always.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Kakashi, what are you doing here?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Oh, I just came in to rub this whole situation in your faces. Oh, and to point out something."

"What's that?" Neji asked as he stood up from the bench he had been sitting on.

Kakashi shut the book he had been reading and held the front cover up for the two to see. "Does this look familiar?"

"_Romeo and Juliet_?" Neji asked, unsure of where Kakashi was going with this. "What is that for?"

"You two really are dense, aren't you?" Kakashi asked calmly. "Oh well," he shrugged. "If you two can't figure it out on your own, I'm not going to bother telling you. I'll see you guys later," he nodded towards Sasuke, "Lord Capulet," then Neji, "Lord Montague." Without another word, Kakashi turned and exited the cellblock.

Neji sat back down on the bench and crossed his arms stubbornly. "What a stupid thing for him to do," he ranted.

But Sasuke was too preoccupied to hear what Neji was saying. His forehead was pressed against the cold metal bars of the cell, his hands gripping the bars so tightly his knuckles were white. His eyes were clenched shut as Leiji's voice swirled throughout his head.

"_I will always be an Uchiha, no matter what happens."_

Suddenly, he could see himself on the day that Leiji was born. He was holding her, nothing but a little pink bundle, tightly in his arms. She had seemed so fragile, like the smallest touch would break her. He had wanted to protect her from any kind of harm. As he saw this, he heard her voice swirling in his mind, all of the most memorable things she had said to him as she had grown.

"_I want to ride on your shoulders, daddy!"_

"_Daddy, look what I made for you!"_

"_Daddy, you're my favorite person in the whole world!"_

"_You're the best daddy ever!"_

"_I love you, daddy!"_

"_Look dad, I'm at the top of my class!"_

"_I graduated! I couldn't have done it without you, dad."_

"_I will always be an Uchiha."_

Sasuke was trembling so badly the iron bars were rattling. He had spent his entire life trying to protect his only daughter, but maybe, just maybe, she didn't need his protection anymore.

It was at that moment that Hachi approached the cellblock, alone. His shoulders were set and his head was held high. He had to do something, and he felt that now was the time. He paused in front of Sasuke's and his father's cell and inhaled deeply. "Uchiha-san."

Sasuke broke away from his stupor and opened his eyes to come face to face with Hachi. "What do you want?" he asked slowly.

"I need to ask you something," Hachi replied calmly.

"Hachi what are you doing?" Neji growled.

"Quiet father, I need to do this," Hachi said simply before turning his attention back to Sasuke. "Uchiha-san, I know we have had our differences, but I love Leiji and I want to spend my entire life with her, no matter what it takes. I want to ask your permission to marry your daughter."

"How dare you ask such a question!" Neji snarled from the back of the cell

"All right," Sasuke said simply and Neji stared at him in shock.

"W-what did you say?" Neji asked slowly.

Hachi bowed, "Thank you very much, Uchiha-san. I understand that that was hard for you."

As Hachi walked out of the cellblock, Neji turned to Sasuke with a deadly glare on his face.

"Why the hell would you allow this?" Neji growled.

Sasuke slumped against the cool wall of the cell and ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. "What's the point? We can bitch and moan about them being together all we want, but it's not going to stop them."

"You could have denied-."

"And what would be the result of that? They would run off and elope," Sasuke explained. "It can't be stopped no matter what we do. We might as well just learn to accept it."

"But-," Neji began, but Sasuke interrupted once more.

"I'm not happy about it," he added, "but it makes my daughter happy." He paused. "It makes the both of them happy."

Neji only sighed and fell into silence. Sasuke smirked lightly, he had a feeling this was Neji's way of accepting what he had said.

"We better get out of here soon," Sasuke said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "It seems we have a wedding to plan."

**One more chapter left…I can't believe it's almost over! But fear not! There will be a sequel! Reviews make the swelling from my wisdom teeth getting pulled out go away!**


	12. Wind Beneath My Wings

**So sorry for the long wait! I've been out of town (still am), and I finally have the time to write! So now I proudly present to you the final chapter of Their Fate!**

"_I want you to know I know the truth,_

_Of course I know it._

_I would be nothing without you." _

_-Bette Midler_

The marriage of Leiji Mikoto Uchiha and Hachi Hizashi Hyuuga occurred six months later. Sakura had been more than shocked when Leiji had burst through the front door just days after Sasuke and Neji had been arrested with a sparkling diamond ring wrapped around her finger. Sasuke hadn't told Sakura that he had agreed to let Hachi propose, he had wanted to surprise her. And surprised Sakura was, she had bounced around the house in a giddy mood ever since, helping with every detail of the wedding, wanting to make sure her only daughter's big day absolutely perfect.

Now, there was less than an hour to go before Leiji walked down the aisle. She sat in her dressing room at Konoha's only church, which was typically used only for wedding ceremonies and funerals, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her lips had been painted red and her black hair had been pulled back into a messy bun, with loose curls falling out to frame her face. Her dress hung behind her, safely secured in its zippered bag. She was still wearing a simple sweatshirt and a pair of yoga pants. She didn't want to risk ruining the gown before the wedding even started.

Karin, the maid of honor, shuffled through the door of the dressing room brushing invisible dust off her hands. "There, everything looks perfect in there," she declared, referring to the chapel, as she stood by her best friend's side. Her hands came to a rest on her stomach, which was just starting to bulge with her pregnancy. She had been seeing Shinbo, the boy she had met at Yuki's party, since their mission to the Stone Village. The pregnancy had been a surprise for the both of them, and they had agreed to continue dating, but they both decided not to rush into a marriage.

"Good," Leiji said as she fiddled nervously with her hands. She could feel herself shaking and she couldn't tell if it was from nerves or simple excitement.

"You should see the way your mom arranged the flowers," Karin continued to gush, "she really put a lot of effort into this and-." She paused, finally noticing Leiji's nervous hand movements, "Hey, what do you have to be scared about?"

Leiji chuckled lightly. "I don't think I'm scared of anything, I just can't believe this is finally happening."

"I know!" Karin agreed as she grabbed her own dress, which was hanging next to Leiji's. "Uncle Sasuke must have had some sort of revelation or _something. _Unless jail made him crazy, of course. I never thought I'd see the day!"

Leiji rolled her eyes. "Imagine how I felt!" she said as the door opened and Sakura stepped elegantly into the room. Her pink hair was curled in cascading waves and she wore a red boat-necked dress that tightened at the waist and fell loosely to her knees. Sakura clasped her hands together and grinned.

"Okay girls," she said, "it's time to get these dresses on you!"

They helped Leiji into her dress first. It was a simple silk gown with a sweetheart neckline and thick straps that barely reached her shoulders. The dress hugged her body and the skirt began to fan out slightly when it reached the knees, creating a kind of mermaid look. Sakura nimbly worked on buttoning up the back of the dress as Karin knelt down and worked on making the bottom the dress look perfect. Finally Sakura and Karin stood to view their handiwork. Leiji had her arms crossed over her chest and was giving the two of them an incredulous look.

"That took a lot longer than it should of," she said, eyeing the both of them.

"We had to make it look perfect!" Karin argued. "This is probably the only time either of us will get to see you look girly."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "You only get married once, hopefully," she snickered. "You have to look your best on a day like this!"

Leiji rolled her eyes as Sakura helped Karin into her own navy blue bridesmaids dress. Karin was the only bridesmaid, and her dress was strapless, tight at the top with a strip of fabric wrapped underneath her breasts. The dress then fell freely to her knees, making her pregnancy even more obvious.

Sakura clasped her hands together and admired the two girls. "Oh, you both look so gorgeous," she said, smiling. She turned and peeked her head out the door and into the hallway. "Hey boys!" she called out to her sons, "Come see your sister!"

Hideki, Tai and Kyo all shuffled into the room, wearing identical tuxedoes. Hideki's new girlfriend and teammate, Karli followed behind wearing a pale green dress. Her thick brown hair fell in tight curls that brushed past her shoulders. She blushed as Hideki's hand found hers. She was shy, but had instantly connected with Leiji, and she had been invited to attend the wedding almost immediately.

"You look pretty," Kyo commented as he had made his way to his mother's side. He had just turned eight the previous month and had shot up nearly three inches. Leiji and Hideki had also celebrated birthdays in the months before the wedding.

"Thanks, Kyo," Leiji replied, smiling lightly as she ruffled her youngest brother's hair.

"It's almost show time," Sakura announced, nearly bouncing with excitement. She motioned to her sons and Karli and said, "We better to get to our seats!" She gave Leiji a quick kiss on the cheek, wishing her luck as she nearly pushed the boys out of the room.

Once the door was closed, Leiji took in a long, shuddery breath.

Karin cocked her head to the side. "Don't you flake out on me now, sister," she warned. "Remember how hard you fought for this?" She pointed to the door. "Now get your ass out there and marry that sexy hunk of Hyuuga meat!"

Leiji quirked an eyebrow. "I really hope that's the hormones talking," she said. "And don't worry about me. I'm not nervous, just-."

"Excited as all hell," Karin finished for her. She leaned over and picked up her bouquet of red and white roses. She gave Leiji a wink as she threw open the door. "I'll be right in front of you on the walk down the aisle, and right behind you while you're standing up there. I've got your back."

Suddenly, Leiji threw her arms around Karin in a tight hug. "I couldn't ask for a better sister," she murmured into Karin's ear. "Thank you so much."

"Hey, quit squeezing me so tight!" Karin said with a laugh. "The last thing I need is early labor!" She quieted for a moment, and then returned the hug with tears forming in her eyes. "God Leiji, I love you."

"I love you too," Leiji replied as she pulled back from the hug.

"Good," Karin nodded. "Now, go get married!"

Leiji laughed. "All right," she agreed as the two best friends exiting the bride's dressing room and made their way down the hall. They stopped in front of the entrance to the chapel, and Karin took her place in front of Leiji.

Sasuke was waiting by the doors and he took his place by his daughter's side when she approached. He couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth well up inside him when she slid her arm through his own and grinned up at him. He closed his eyes for a moment, unable to believe that his only daughter was standing at his side dressed in white and ready to start a new life with someone else. He mentally slapped himself for allowing this wedding to happen, but then he reopened his eyes and saw Leiji still smiling at him. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen her this happy.

"Are you okay, dad?" Leiji asked, her smile softening.

"Hn," Sasuke hummed, unsure of how to answer her question. In a way, he felt okay, but he also felt as though he were about to lose something precious. He supposed that he was, in a way. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around Leiji and rested his chin on top of her head.

Leiji burrowed her face into his shoulder, where she had fallen asleep so many times as a child. She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes as she took in her father's familiar scent, and suddenly she missed being a child. She missed being able to run into her father's arms when she was scared, knowing that nothing would ever hurt her while her daddy was holding her. She hadn't realized how much she would miss her old house, where she knew her dad would always be if she needed him.

Music began playing on the big organ at the front of the church and Leiji stiffened at the sound. Still holding her tightly, Sasuke pulled back and placed a kiss on his daughter's forehead. "Come on," he whispered, "it's time to go."

Karin was already halfway down the aisle when Leiji turned to look at her father. "I love you, dad," she said, her voice trembling.

Sasuke's grip on her arm tightened at the words and a smile crept across his features. "I love you, too," he replied. His gaze shifted to the front of the church, where Karin stood opposite of Hachi, waiting. It was their time to walk. "Are you ready?" he asked as the music shifted and everyone in the pews turned to watch the bride and her father make their walk down the aisle.

Leiji inhaled deeply, shaking away the last bit of her nerves. She wrapped her arm tightly around her father's, looked up at him, and smiled. "I'm ready."

_The End_

**Holy crap, it's over…Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I felt like this was the most appropriate place to end it. I've really enjoyed rewriting this (for the THIRD time!), and I'm going to enjoy rewriting the sequel even more! **_**Harmony **_**should be out within the next week, so keep an eye out for it!**

**Thanks to all my faithful readers, who make me want to continue to write, no matter what. I hope you all continue to read my work in the future. Until next time…**


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